


Song of Sun

by Madyamisam



Series: Secrets of Sun Collection [2]
Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Canon Compliant, Child Abuse, Drama, Drugs, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mystery, Original Character(s), mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-26 15:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1692932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madyamisam/pseuds/Madyamisam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A street parade has come to Chang An Temple and is disturbing the peace so Sanzo has to find a way to solve the problem as well as dealing with an errant monkey who has taken a liking to the festival. Set a couple a months after Goku overcomes his fear of snow. Goku should be I think 16, Sanzo is 21 and Hakkai and Gojyo would be 20.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To Hell with Rules and Regulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is non-profit written fanwork. I don't own any characters of the Saiyuki franchise.

Right on schedule the singing had started at the crack of dawn. It had been like this for the past two weeks since the caravan came and set up camp outside the temple walls which meant that nearly all the acolytes would come flocking towards him in droves, complaining about the loud music and the scantily clad dancing women. Sanzo hated these kinds of festivities too, preferring to sit quietly by the window sill with a newspaper, a cup of tea and his cigarettes. However, the song being sung in the morning was a simple tune and the foreign words that rolled out of the singer’s voice in the early hours didn’t bother him in the slightest. On the contrary, it was a welcoming feeling, carrying warmth and comfort but with a hint of sadness. It was likely the only reason why he had not made more of an effort to try to relocate the caravan away from the temple yet. 

Closing his eyes, Sanzo listened to the lullaby in its entirety before he forced himself to get up and attend to his daily duties such as paperwork and petty problems the Chang An idiots would throw his way. What was most on his mind, however, was the biggest idiot of the lot whom he had unwittingly developed a close attachment to the past three years. Not that he would ever admit it out loud to Goku’s face but at least, the monkey’s antics were easier to stomach than some of the hypocritical bullshit amongst some other members of the shrine. So, when Hakkai informed him of what was going on with the golden eyed youth and the rest of the monks while his back was turned, he was naturally irritated. Although the gossiping about why he bothered taking Goku in had stopped now, it seemed it had given rise to something Sanzo detested even more. 

The short song had ended too soon as did the 5 minute lie in. Sanzo could feel his head start to throb the moment there was a knock on the door of his room. 

“Master Sanzo, are you awake?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“We humbly ask for your presence at the main hall. We would like to discuss with you an issue of great importance.” Sanzo sighed. He really needed a cigarette. 

\---

By the time the important meeting had finished Sanzo was about ready to not only kill someone but eviscerate them, slowly. It was the same asinine allusions that the monks were under the risk of getting distracted from their daily routines. Women were sinful after all. 

“Isn’t it their own lack of discipline that allowed for such temptations in the first place?” he muttered under his breath. It took the blonde priest a while to notice a familiar green eyed brunet who was standing at the entrance watching the monks mill out of the room. He mentally groaned when he recognised the ‘we need to talk’ smile. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be tutoring Goku today?”

“I decided that we could finish early. It’s the Flower and Fruit Festival after all. Gojyo and I would like to get a chance to see that dance troupe caravan that has been camping outside the temple these past two weeks.”

“Well this might be your last chance. They’re leaving first thing in the morning.” Sanzo glanced around and noticed something was off. He sighed taking the cue towards the actual issue of their discussion. “Where is the monkey anyway?”

“A friend of his dropped by to say hello, I think her name’s Mala.” Sanzo could feel another headache come along as he was reminded of the claims made by the monks. It didn’t take him long to figure out where they had based their accusations on. His suspicions were confirmed upon seeing the so-called friend sitting on the top of the wall swinging her legs loosely while watching Goku shovelling fresh compost for the temple crops. He was about to head over to tell the brat to take a hike when the Hakkai stopped him in his tracks. 

“What are you-?”

“Just hold back a moment Sanzo,” Hakkai replied with that annoying enigmatic smile of his. The blonde priest growled but remained rooted to the spot to continue to observe. 

The gypsy girl was silent while watching Goku go about his chores and seemed deep in thought. Sanzo could tell that she was nervous about something as she was playing with the ends of her long dark braid and chewing on her bottom lip. A faint hue of pink started to show on her cheeks as she finally gathered up the courage to speak. 

“Hey Goku?”

“Hmm?” the golden eyed youth looked up from his work. 

“I was just thinking that temple life really doesn’t seem to suit you. For one thing, you’re too nice and so, I was wondering if you might want to come join the caravan?” 

Sanzo unwittingly became tense, recalling the time when he first brought Goku to the temple and had been trying to figure out what to do with him. He remembered going through the various possible options in order to put Goku to foster care so he would never have to deal with him again. Most annoying of all he remembered the boy’s face looking confused and frightened, something he had not picked up on at the time. Now, three years on Goku was being offered that opportunity to have a family that Sanzo had once promised him. Admittedly, it was impossible given the circumstances of Goku’s mental state should the golden circlet on his head ever come off but Sanzo also knew that the life at the temple was not something Goku really needed. 

“Everybody there really likes you. The Chief even thinks of you like a son. I know we’re not the conventional home but you get to see all sorts of things and try out different kinds of food. I think you’d be really happy with us and…” Mala stopped herself at that point and silence fell between them. Goku pursed his lips, deep in thought. It was a rarity for even Sanzo to see considering the youth was constantly hanging around him most of the time and chattering non-stop for the past three years. This of course it usually ended with a smack of a large paper fan that kept Goku quiet for a little while before the whole process started all over again. At the moment though, Sanzo found himself holding his breath as Goku continued to ponder about the proposal. 

“I suppose you’re right about the temple and stuff. I don’t really like most of the things around here.” Goku’s pout turned into a grin. “But it’s ok.” Goku replied cheerfully as he continued working. “As long as Sanzo is here, I think I’ll be fine.” Mala’s expression fell with disappointment and watched him continue to work a little longer. Sighing, she carefully stood up on the wall and then flashed him a smile, exuding with an exotic confidence that proved she was a veteran performer of her caravan. 

“Priest Sanzo sounds like a pretty cool guy if he can get you to stay in this crap of a temple.” Goku looked confused for a moment at the sudden change of demeanour but smiled back as she elegantly tip toed across the wall like a street wise tom cat. 

“I don’t know about ‘cool’ but he is ok.” 

“You’ll at least come to the show later right?” Goku laughed at the girl’s antics as she did a cartwheel.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.” With the conversation over, Mala skipped back over the wall. Sanzo sighed and leaned against the wall he and Hakkai were hiding behind. 

“What. A. Moron.” drawled a voice that had always annoyed Sanzo. He glared at the lanky red eyed, red head that was Sha Gojyo who had just arrived to join them. “A chance to leave this stuffed up temple to travel with a caravan filled with plenty of food, drink and hot chicks and he rejects it for your sorry droopy eyed ass?” 

“It’s none of your business, kappa. Besides he’s made his choice.”

“More like he doesn’t know any better, you stinking monk,” 

“Now, now there’s no need to get testy. Loyalty isn’t a bad trait. I personally find it quite endearing.” Hakkai said stepping between the two. It seemed that Sanzo and Gojyo would always have some level of animosity towards each other even on friendly terms. 

“To hell with loyalty, it’s just plain stupid. I ought to knock some sense into that freaking brat.” Gojyo was about to step up to smack the teenager upside the head when someone else had stormed into the courtyard. A monk, one of the older acolytes whom Sanzo recognised had been in the meeting earlier that day. He was also one of the loudest of the protesters and had a face wrinkled with the obvious look of disdain. Sanzo knew that the man had it in for Goku.

“Boy,” he addressed spitefully. “Have you finished with tilling that soil yet?”

“Nearly done, just this patch left.” Goku replied curtly knowing that the monk was probably going to give him another earful. 

“Unacceptable, you should’ve gotten it done hours ago.” 

“I would’ve done it hours ago if everyone else hadn’t just dropped their chores on to me to go to that meeting.” It was at that moment a loud grumble from the young brunets stomach interjected with its own protest. “I didn’t even have enough time to finish breakfast today.”

“So I presume you also helped yourself to more food from the kitchen again.” the monk sneered. “Whilst I find your level of gluttony deplorable, what I find the most disturbing is your recent behaviour. You realise in accordance with Buddhist teachings, this temple forbids women to set foot on sacred ground, yet I know you not only allow these gypsy girls to enter here you openly fraternize with them.”

Goku blinked a few times and scratched at the gold crown on his head. “Fra-tar-ta? Is that yummy?” he asked innocently, genuinely confused with the strange word. The monk’s face went red with rage. 

“You’re an absolute disgrace. Don’t you even feel a shred of gratitude to Master Sanzo’s generosity in taking you in?” Goku visibly flinched as the words left the acolyte’s lips and the young monk knew exactly how to manipulate the situation to subdue the teen’s unruly behaviour. He smirked triumphantly. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and draw some water from the well? Perhaps it’ll get you to think about disciplining yourself and not cause Master Sanzo any more trouble?” Gojyo was ready to give the upstart monk a piece of a knuckle sandwich when Sanzo stepped from behind the wall and blocked his path, his own rage radiating out in waves.

“Who’s causing me trouble now?” he growled dishing out the mother of all death glares. The acolyte’s face blanched completely white, his eyes wide with absolute terror.

“M-m-master S—S-Sanzo.” He stuttered and it was plain to see that the man could end up fainting at any moment. 

“I saw you at the main hall. Shoran, I believe your name is right?” the monk nodded and Sanzo relished watching the man squirm. “You were sure hollering out really loudly today. So loud, in fact, I thought your voice would give out. It would’ve been an improvement if it had.” Sanzo got right into the young man’s face staring down with his ferocious violet eyes. “Now since you’ve just said that Goku’s completed a number of chores from the other acolytes, you could perhaps finish off some of his duties to make up for all the time you wasted this morning? That would be fair wouldn’t you say?” 

“I… y—y-yes sir” gurgled the panic stricken monk. Sanzo then went to take the spade from Goku and shoved it towards the petrified man. 

“Then you can start with finishing this job off. Make sure to do all the other duties as well and they better be finished by the time I come back. Goku, get over here.” Sanzo stalked away from the courtyard followed by Hakkai, Gojyo and a bemused Goku. Shoran trembled as he started to work. He gave a small shriek when Sanzo spoke again. “Oh and Shoran, if I hear even a whisper of you or any of the other monks throwing my name and position about like that again, I’ll make sure that completing the daily chores will be the least of your problems.”

\---

 

When they were out of the courtyard and out of ear shot, the red head chortled. “The look on his face, it was priceless.”

“Well Sanzo can get quite frightening at times.”

“You’re one to talk Hakkai, you’re one of the scariest people in existence.” 

“Dear me, that’s not a very nice thing to say to me, Gojyo.” Hakkai pouted at the friendly tease but his attention turned to an unusually quiet Goku who was looking at anything but his guardian. Sanzo walked up to the 16 year old that was busy staring at his feet. 

“Goku?”

“Yeah?” A loud resounding crack was heard as Sanzo’s fan connected with the youth’s head. Goku glared at the harisen then yelled at its owner. “What the hell was that for?”

“For being an idiot, you stupid chimp.” Sanzo growled and smacked the young brunet a few more times for good measure. “Because you went around doing everyone else’s chores, those bastards had more free time to come bother me with their moronic whining.” 

“Ow, ow, ow. Will you quit it? I just didn’t want to give them another reason to complain to you about and they would’ve dumped their chores on some other kid anyway if I didn’t.” Goku ranted back rubbing the sore spot on his head. Sanzo sighed and placed his hand on the brunet’s forehead and pushed it slightly back to make Goku look at him. ‘Damn monkey and his noble sensibilities’ he thought as Goku appeared lost and confused. 

“In case you haven’t heard earlier I’ll sort that out. In the meantime, you just do the chores you’ve been assigned to and nothing else. Got it?” It took a moment for the words to register but what happened next disturbed Sanzo more than anything. 

“Ok” Goku replied wearily. His gold eyes had glazed over and seemed appeared to stare past him. Sanzo frowned when he saw that. It was one other thing that he had noticed recently, the kid had started spacing out a lot, sometimes dropping off to sleep altogether during lessons. Sanzo remembered the number of times he called out to him, usually followed by another smack of the fan to snap Goku out of his daze and this occasion was no different. 

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Where’re we going?” Goku had blinked a few times rubbing the spot where the paper fan had hit him again. 

“Out to eat. The kappa insists on treating us.” 

While Goku lit up immediately at the prospect of food, Gojyo’s chuckled humourlessly. “Heh, and here I was thinking you had a soft side.” 


	2. The Singing Orchid

It had been nearly impossible to wade through the crowd of people enjoying the festival that had been going on for two weeks. Stalls were lined in the middle selling all sorts of merchandise from shoes to exotic looking scarves. The place was chaos and Sanzo was wishing he could just go back to the temple and have a quiet meal of rice and tea with today's paper. Sanzo glanced over at his ward, who was staring at the all the stalls with complete awe while chewing on some chicken skewers, and felt a little more at ease to see that Goku was back to his normal, annoying self again. He didn't bother chastising the boy who had headed straight towards the smell of more meat skewers barbequing on a grill. 

"Hey there little lady, that was some swell dancing you did back there," Sanzo rolled his eyes at Gojyo's shameless flirting. The dancer, a voluptuous looking woman with exotic black curls and chocolate coloured skin smiled. 

"Thank you for the compliment." 

"My names Gojyo, would you mind telling me yours?" 

"Haru." 

"Haru eh? What a fitting name for the season. I was wondering when you might be getting some down time and perhaps we could hit the bar and get to know each other a bit more?" The exotic gypsy's demure smile remained in place. 

"How cute, but unfortunately for you honey, I've got my eye on someone else at the moment." She slipped slyly away to weave through the crowds and tackle an unsuspecting young brunet who was still waiting impatiently at the food stall. "Gokuuuuuu!" she squealed locking the poor youth in a tight embrace with his face being smothered by her well-endowed breasts. The other three looked on with shock, horror and amusement. 

"What?" Gojyo stared on mouth gaping open like an asphyxiated fish while Hakkai was too busy clutching at his sides in laughter. Sanzo was trying not to think about the various problems that would arise from this but one problem stood out to him. Sanzo did not like the way the woman was looking at Goku.

"That idiot." Recovering from the sudden collision, Goku squirmed out of the embrace to breath. 

"Hi Haru," he gasped indicating for the woman to loosen her grip. 

"Hello sweetie, it's great to see you actually getting away to enjoy the festival, let's take a look at those pretty eyes of yours." Haru cooed like an overbearing auntie. She gripped Goku's chin and tilted it upwards for a better look. Her affectionate smile though, turned into a concerned frown. 

"You look a bit tired there kiddo. Are you alright?" A loud grumble was heard from the pit of the youth's stomach answering her question. 

"I think I'm just hungry. I'll be fine once I've eaten something." Sure enough the stall owner had slapped on several trays of food that could feed a group of six in Goku's arms and the boy's eyes lit up with happiness. 

"Well, since you're all set food wise, why don't you head backstage? You can watch the Singing Orchid's Spring Finale from there." Haru suggested nudging him towards the brightly coloured tent where all the performers were getting ready. 

"Oh yeah, I promised Mala I would see it." The youth allowed himself to be led away when Sanzo stepped forward. 

"Goku, what's going on here?" It irked him in more ways than one seeing the woman drape over the monkey's shoulders while the idiot stared doe eyed back at the three of them. 

"She's a friend," Goku replied innocently and seemed confused with the level of animosity the blond priest had for the woman. 

"Another friend?" 

"Yes another friend. Purely platonic." Haru drawled and flashing him a sardonic smile. "Or is having friends against your Buddhist teachings as well?" The implied challenge in her tone and the flaunting of her buxom chest made Gojyo's exploits seem like school yard hand holding in comparison. 'Platonic my ass' She was obviously scheming something and he didn't like it one bit. What was frustrating was Goku's ignorance of the woman's actions around him. 

"Is there something wrong, Sanzo?" Goku asked worriedly. Haru pursed her lips looking at the blond monk.

"So this is the infamous Priest Sanzo that you talk about so much?" Haru stared appreciatively which just served to infuriate Sanzo even more. "Goku, why don't you go on ahead backstage? I would like to have a chat with the venerable Head Priest for a little while." 

"Sanzo?" 

"Do what you want." Sanzo snapped inwardly regretting it when the boy flinched at his tone. The blond priest took a drag from his cigarette still glaring at the woman in front of him. Haru however appeared completely calm. 

"I do apologise if I seem rude to you. It's somewhat of a coping mechanism against bigotry considering how our nomadic lifestyle seems to always rub someone the wrong way." 

"You don't need to worry about it. I think we've all had a bit of a misunderstanding here." Hakkai was quick to dissolve any lingering issues. 

"The prissy priest's has always had an attitude like this. You shouldn't pay him mind." Gojyo added which would've earned him a gun shot in the head if not for the fact that Sanzo was still trying to figure out what this woman's motives were. 

"You're such a gentleman, perhaps I'll reconsider that offer for a drink later but for now, why don't you follow me? I'll let the esteemed Sanzo and his companions in to the VIP area for our final show for this year." She sauntered away beckoning the three of them to follow her and whilst Gojyo and Hakkai remained amicable, Sanzo was seething. 

-

 

The VIP booth was on an elevated platform situated at an angle from the stage and the seats were comfortable with drinks and snacks available just next to them. The booth was decorated in an array of bold colours of red, oranges and yellows but what Sanzo was most drawn to was the potted plant that was situated as the centre piece. Contrary to the garish décor around it, the flower looked simple and two flower blooms growing on a single green stem. The petals were a beautiful pearly, almost translucent white with inflections of gold and silver that swirled like the surface of a soap bubble. 

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Haru said stroking the petals delicately. Sanzo grudgingly agreed to that point. Not that he would actually admit it to Haru but the flower exuded a pure innocence amidst the debauchery of colours surrounding it. An image flashed in his mind of a young child, smiling adoringly up at him with eyes of shining gold. "It's called the Singing Orchid" 

"What an unusual name. I've never seen such a plant before. Does it actually sing?" Hakkai asked looking intrigued. Haru plopped onto her seat next to him. 

"Well, we have yet to hear an actual performance but… here's to hoping." Haru crooned stroking one of the leaves of the plant before continuing with the history lesson. "The Singing Orchid comes from a valley in the west. The caravan had chanced upon it growing at the foot of a mountain and the locals have said that the orchid would only ever sing in the presence of its spiritual kin." 

"Spiritual kin?" 

"Those who share the same soul but in a different form." Haru's explanation was met with blank looks and she chuckled. "Which I guess means it could be anything. The orchid rarely flowers so as you can see I'm quite pleased to see it bloom every year since we first came here which is why we named our latest stage performance after it. Perhaps the environmental conditions are just right or maybe it's the divine aura of your temple." Sanzo grimaced at the false flattery. 

"So that's the reason you've been coming back every year to the same spot ever since." Hakkai concluded quite enamoured by the seemingly charming tradition. Sanzo though, couldn't help but think there was something more to it than that. The caravan toured across the world so they rarely came to the same place twice let alone three times in consecutive years. He couldn't help but think there was another reason for them coming here. 

"Well of course and it's nice to see Goku too. He's such a sweet kid and very talented." The street performer made a point to emphasise the sentence in a way that even made the corruption that was Gojyo feel uncomfortable with the innuendo. 

Just as Sanzo was going to get up and look for the monkey and drag the kid back to the temple, the show had started. The dancers had poured out onto the stage as a raunchy song roared in the background to the delight of the audience. Hakkai had once talked to Sanzo about the modern day dances to which the strange names eluded him. He never bothered listening to the entirety of the conversation and looking at the way the young teenagers moved so fluidly he would've been still at a complete loss if he had. Whether he liked it or not, he could see the appeal to the audience. It seemed like the entire group consisted of kids probably no older than seventeen but they seemed to know what they were doing. One particular dancer though had stood out amongst the group. The seemingly exotic and fluid movements were extremely familiar and while all the dancers were wearing masks, the scrawny youth looked like the main focus. 

"You don't like her." Hakkai whispered conspiratorially just enough for Sanzo to hear and out of earshot of Haru. Sanzo huffed and folded his arms. 

"Don't know what you're talking about" 

"Oh come on Sanzo, it's obvious on your face. It reminds me of the parents of one my students at the school I work at. They're in the middle of a custody battle." Hakkai smirked at the incredulous look on the blond priest's face.

"You're saying stuff that's actually pissing me off. I am questioning why I ever spoke up for you in front of the Three Aspects." Hakkai sighed. He had struck a nerve for Sanzo to resort to bringing up his past. 

"I'm just not sure what you're worried about. So Goku's made some friends with the caravan but he's made it clear where his home is. Ever since I've known you two, you've been pretty much inseparable. I can't ever imagine it any other way." Another enigmatic smile graced Hakkai's lips followed by a couple of flashes from a lump of plastic that was in his hand. Sanzo grimaced at how easily the teacher seemed to read him or perhaps it was because he was a lot easier to read than he thought. Perhaps the conversation Goku had with Mala and the way Haru hung around him had rattled him a lot more than he led himself to believe. He decided that it would be best to change topics that regarded Goku. 

"When did you get a camera?" 

"When I heard about the festival. I wanted a keepsake." There was a brief silence and Sanzo sat back thinking that would be it with the 'talk' until the bespectacled brunet dropped another bombshell. "Aside from separation anxiety perhaps you might indulge me on what else you think is going on with the caravan?" Hakkai flashed another smile but it dropped when he noticed the flicker of strain in the otherwise impassive face of the blond priest. 

"Something is just off..." was Sanzo's reply and while Hakkai waited patiently to elaborate, the priest had become lost in his own thoughts. Sighing in frustration he turned his attention to the stage. He didn't find anything particularly spectacular for most of the show until a solo performance by the main dancer. He had a nagging feeling about the youth that stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the troupe. Just like the orchid in the room. 

The performer was balancing on wooden poles that had been erected on the stage. He seemed to float gracefully across them with a large cloak billowing behind him. There was a warm aura that seemed to be in the air and it held the audience's full attention. Movement in the booth caught Sanzo's eye's and it drew him away from the show. The orchid that was on the table started to shift, a lump began to form next to the other two blossoms. As the performance ended, the orchid had grown a third bud. He noticed Haru was staring at the flower as well, a glint of eager anticipation in her eyes. Soon enough as the performance ended the aura dissipated and the bud remained unopened and although she looked disappointed, Haru appeared to also be in deep thought before taking the plant and leaving the room. Sanzo had no urge to follow her for he knew he had a more pressing matter to deal with when he recognised the glint of a familiar gold circlet that peeked out from behind the dancing youth's mask just as he disappeared backstage. Sanzo growled in frustration as the unsettling feeling he had all day had just increased tenfold. 

-

The troupe of dancers chattered eagerly as they exited from the stage away from the massive cheer of the crowd. They all gathered around the main dancer after the final curtain. "Great job Goku, I was getting goose bumps. This will have been the best show we've done yet." Mala cheered as she hugged the teen. "Thank you so much!" 

Goku chuckled shyly as he removed the mask he had been wearing for the whole performance. "Gotta admit, it was a lot of fun!" 

"Well, just get yourself changed. We got some stew in the pot that'll be ready in 20 minutes. Like I promised" 

"YAY! Food!" the teen cheered immediately as if rejuvenated from the prospect of eating soon. He hurried over to the dressing room. Goku sighed contently as he slipped away from rest of dance troupe only to be seeing stars from a bright flash. "What the- Hakkai?" his tutor was grinning, with a camera held in front of his face. 

"Isn't today just full of surprises? Gojyo wouldn't believe me when I told him my suspicions of the lead dancer." he announced proudly with a serene smile on his face. Goku was further assaulted by Gojyo who had him in a head lock and ruffling his wild mane of hair. 

"Not bad for a monkey. I didn't know you had those kinds of moves." 

"Ack, quit it Gojyo. You know that I hate it when you do that." Goku tried to shove the red head away but Sanzo knew it was a half-hearted attempt at best. Goku looked exhausted. 

"Come on, I'm giving you praise here. It's a rare thing I do so accept it graciously." Gojyo retorted giving the smaller brunet another noogie. 

"Indeed, it was a spectacular performance." Hakkai added taking a couple more pictures. "And you look adorable in that outfit." The costume was a mixture of fabrics of pastel shades of cream and white lined with gold trim overlapped over each other in a leaf motif. Goku's long hair was tied back with a simple ribbon.

"Goku…" The teen when he saw the violet eyes glaring down at him and cringed.

"Sanzo…" 

"Explain yourself…" 

"Well, thing is," Goku fidgeted playing with the fabric of his dance tunic as he explained the circumstances on how he ended up in the performance, his cheeks turning bright red with embarrassment. "The main dancer and the back-up dancer both got injured just before the show and I kind of… was able to watch their rehearsals from my room these past 2 weeks. I thought they looked fun and followed their moves so when Mala found out I had managed to learn the entire routine, I… got… roped in as the back-up's back up." The explanation trailed off when the blonde turned to walk away. No fan, no yelling but Goku knew he was angry. "Sanzo?" 

"Just get changed, we're leaving." The priest was quiet when he said it. 

"But…" another silent glare thrown his way and Goku's face paled. He scurried into the dressing room ignoring the shocked looks of Hakkai and Gojyo. 

"Sheesh, overreact much, you prissy monk? Why are you being such a hard ass to the kid for?" The question went unanswered as Sanzo had already walked out of the tent. "What the hell just happened?" 

"Let me handle this. You go talk to Goku." Hakkai assured as he hurried after the blond priest. 

-

Gojyo rolled his eyes and wondered why he was dealing with this drama. He and Hakkai wanted to enjoy a day at this festival. Cold beer in hand, having hot chicks belly dance on the street, flinging their scarves at him and perhaps finish the day with a few rounds of poker with some unfortunate chump with a lot of cash in his wallet. It was meant to be a fun day for him and it just had to be ruined by a little monkey with abandonment issues and a prissy monk throwing a hissy fit over rules and regulations. He sighed. Sometimes he hated being a nice guy. "Goku?" 

"He's seems really angry this time." Gojyo blew at the stray strand of his long red hair that he often got teased about as antennae. "Tension between the temple and the caravan is probably getting to him, I doubt it's you that's he's mad at." 

"It would've been better if he was." The brunet snapped back. "At least that way I'll know that I can do something about it." Gojyo was irritated now. Even though it was a closed door, he could tell that the teen was likely sitting in a corner of the room looking pathetic and vulnerable like the time when he and Hakkai found out about Goku's chionophobia. Although Goku had in essence made a mile stone by being able to take those first few steps in the snow that day, he still had plenty of insecurities that the red head was only starting to learn about. It didn't help that most of the monks at the temple were a bunch of stuck up assholes. 

"Don't cry." 

"I'm not crying." Goku sulked. Gojyo leaned against the door of the dressing room and plucked out his favourite lighter and his pack of Hi-Lites. 

"Did I do anything wrong?" 

"No you didn't." 

"I just helped someone, right?"

"Yeah, you did and that's ok." The two fell silent so that Goku could reflect on his words. Gojyo didn't wait long. He hated seeing the kid miserable. "Anyway, didn't your friend say there's some food? If you don't hurry up and get changed there won't be any left." 

"Sanzo said we were going straight home." Gojyo frowned when even the prospect of food didn't shake Goku out of his funk. 

"Then go get a doggy bag for it." 

"Can you get it while I'm changing please Gojyo?"

"No." Gojyo smirked when he heard the annoyed growl from the teen. The monkey was always too easy to tease. As expected he heard the teen huff indignantly. 

"Why you… I even asked you nicely." 

"The caravan will be leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow. It's your last chance to see those friends of yours." Gojyo reminded playing his final trump card. "Don't worry, I'm sure His Holiness will wait despite what he says." 

"But…" 

"It's only fair right? Hakkai's told me you've had to put up with a lot of crap these past couple of weeks to minimise the number of problems between the caravan and the temple. If Sanzo has a shred of decency, he'll wait for ya." There was a contemplative silence then a hurried shuffling behind the door. 

"Thanks Gojyo." Gojyo chuckled taking a drag from his cigarette as he waited for Goku to get changed. 

-

Winding through the disappearing crowd in the search of one grumpy priest was not really on Hakkai's joy list but he was not one to let a problem get out of control if he saw it coming. "Sanzo? Sanzo, wait a moment." The green eyed brunet caught up with the blond priest who seemed preoccupied with looking for something hidden from public eye. "What's really going on? Is this to do with the meeting at the temple today?" 

"None of your business." Sanzo snorted as he gave up his futile search to knock back a cigarette from his carton of Malboros and light it. Hakkai sighed resisting the urge to rub his temples in frustration for the blonde's stubbornness. "I may have only known you for a year but I know enough that you don't get involved with Chang An's personal affairs unless it's a direct order from the Three Aspects or…" Hakkai faltered. "… or whatever you might find is going to hurt Goku in some way." His face darkened when he noticed the subtle tell in Sanzo that confirmed his suspicions. A slight movement of the right hand towards the sleeve where Hakkai knew Sanzo hid his Smith and Wesson revolver. 

"Like I said, it's none of your business" Hakkai's hand shot out like a snake to grab the priest's wrist. A look of murderous fury replaced the normally cheerful face of the bespectacled school teacher. 

"If it's the latter Sanzo, then as his tutor that makes it my business." Sanzo grimaced but Hakkai had his way of getting information out of people even more stubborn than himself. 

"There are some allegations amongst all the garbage that was being spouted this morning about suspected child trafficking happening in the town recently."

"You think the caravan is involved?" 

"Don't know. The morons at the temple certainly seem to think so. Apparently, they have patrons coming to report the disappearances. They report strange behaviour in their children then when the caravan leaves, so do the kids." Sanzo replied. 

"We both know that Goku's been acting strangely tired lately too. Normally, I would have figured it was the extra chores he had to do but…" 

"But this is Goku." Sanzo finished the sentence. "Ever since that brat got out of his cage on that mountain, he's been a pain in the ass running the entire temple ragged. Extra chores forced on him by little shits like Shoran and a 'dance recital' isn't enough to tire him out like that." Hakkai was taken aback by the venom that was in the blonde's voice, venom that carried with it a hint of trepidation. It was the first time Hakkai ever saw Sanzo nervous and he would've found it endearing had it not been for the seriousness of the allegation being made. Both of them fell silent when a rustle of clothing caught their attention. They hid behind one of the many trailers as a shadowy figure headed towards the more isolated areas of the camp. When the figure was far enough away, another enigmatic smile formed on Hakkai's lips. 

"I'd say following that suspicious looking person will be a good start to the investigation wouldn't you?" Hakkai whispered before he slipped in through the long twisting aisles that the figure had gone down. Sanzo sighed. Flicking the butt of his extinguished cigarette and blowing out the last breath of smoke left in his lungs, the priest followed his companion into the dark alleyway. 

-

Goku smiled whimsically, tugging the final knots of his tunic loose and taking it off before slipping back his own shirt. The performance had indeed been a lot of fun in spite of the touch of stage fright for going on the first time. Mala had been a great guide as was the rest of the troupe. They had all been very friendly and accepting which was a stark contrast to his life at the temple. His smile disappeared when he thought of what transpired when Sanzo found out about his participation. Truthfully, Goku hadn't expected to be roped into performing. He knew about the rumours from all the whispered gossip amongst the acolytes and they often got pretty malicious, particularly if said rumours involved him. He knew of the obvious disdain the monks had for him and while Sanzo was able to deal with people like Shoran quite easily, there were several others who were a lot more subtle in their approach of bullying the golden eyed teen. He tried to keep to himself to avoid confrontation but sometimes the monks were relentless. He found it funny really, since they were constantly preaching acceptance and tolerance during the temple lectures that Sanzo demanded him to sit through. 

Slipping on his shirt he hurried to at least say goodbye to his friends before Sanzo got really mad. He took one last look at the room and the array of colourful costumes but then his eyes fell on an object set in on one of the larger dressing tables. A pot plant with white flowers, tinged with silver and gold. 

"Pretty…" he whispered to himself reaching out to touch the soft petals and drew close to smell a gentle fragrance coming from it. He gasped, sensing a deep feeling of happiness coming from the plant. He noticed a bud nestled between the two blooms and his eyes widened as it began to open and soft silky white unfurled like a butterfly from the confines of a green cocoon. Goku smiled watching the flower bloom, the plant's happiness spread to him and he felt warm and fuzzy. Goku felt so relaxed stroking the plant's petals, he forgot about what he was planning to do. He laid his head on the table and closed his eyes, letting the warmth envelop him. The golden eyed youth did not even stir from his sleep when he was picked up and carried out of the room through a door opposite where the red headed half breed stood outside. Gojyo continued to wait unaware that the dressing room was now empty. 


	3. Return of the Lost Pet

Out of all the colourful designs of the wagons, the one that the suspicious figure went in to was a little underwhelming. It wasn’t exactly old and decrepit per se but quite plain and purely there for a practical purpose. They had waited hiding within the shadows for the figure to come out again and hurry away towards the group of tents where the dancing troupe was. A smell of spices wafted from whatever was inside but when they slipped into the door they were met with a pretty grim sight. There were several of them; most of them huddled into a group at far end of the room. Those that weren’t laid on the few beds that was available in the cramped space looking gaunt and sickly. 

“What in the world?” Hakkai gasped staring at one particularly emaciated girl. Her bones protruded from her body with her arm barely the width of a stick. “Are these the children?” Sanzo’s gaze hardened at the sight in front of him. A few of the children that had spotted them looked too traumatised to care that two strange men had entered the room. They simply stared impassively while the rest of them were huddled together. 

“This is worse than I imagined…” Sanzo muttered to himself as Hakkai went for a closer inspection particularly at some of the children that lay sick on the bed. He cursed as a thought the image of blank gold eyes flashed in his mind. 

“It seems they’ve been addicted to some kind of dru-“ the bespectacled didn’t even have time to finish the sentence for the monk had hurried out of the door and back towards the main camp site. “Sanzo!” 

\---

Gojyo raised an eyebrow when he saw the blonde storming his way towards him. 

“Yo, dude, he’s still changing.” He tried to say but Sanzo paid him no heed and wrenched the door open. It was a shock to the red head to see the priest barge in with a face resembling panic. It wasn’t without good reason though when the two of them were met with an empty dressing room. 

“Shit…” Sanzo hissed inspecting the room. There was no sign of a struggle or any strange smells that the enemy may have used to knock the kid out. All that was there that seemed unusual was traces of soil on top of the dressing table. 

“What are you doing here?” It was Mala who had been wondering why Goku had been taking so long. “Goku? Where is he?” Sanzo glared at the girl. 

“I could ask the same to you.” He hissed at her. Whether she was frightened by the animosity or not Mala did not show it. She stood her ground returning his furious gaze with a defiant one. 

“So you’re another one of those stuck up priests from the temple huh?” the teen smirked coldly, eyes fierce with an intellectual intensity rivalling even the likes of Hakkai’s sharp mind. "We are allowed to be here you know? In case you didn't realise, this place is a public area which the caravan is free to stay through the course of the festival here. We're not doing anything wrong."

"Oh?” The blond priest growled before snatching the girl’s wrist and dragging her back in the direction he had just come from. 

“Where the hell are you taking me? We’re not supposed to be here! Let go!” the girl screamed whilst being dragged around by the seemingly meek looking blond towards the restricted that the Chief had forbidden her and the rest of the troupe to go. Gojyo followed suit to ensure that she didn’t get away. The door was wide open before her and she was shoved in to look on a sight that sickened her to the stomach.

“If the caravan is so innocent, then how do you explain the large group of children that is being held here against their will?" the priest’s low growl behind her and the large group of kids all bearing the same vacant expression on their faces made Mala’s blood run cold. Hakkai, who had remained behind to perform basic medical care for any children that needed it and to gather evidence, turned to the petrified girl. An incredibly threatening aura was around him and Mala looked frightened by the soft spoken teacher that Goku was with earlier. The normally cheerful demeanour was replaced with the face of a devil. A murderous intent bent on killing everything that was in his way but that wasn’t what scared her the most.  
“Where did they come from?” Mala backed away but determined to defend the place she had called home and the people that she lived with her family. As far as she was concerned the priest and his companions were trying to destroy it. “All the trailers are for performers and workers of the caravan only. There shouldn’t be any kids in them”  
"Looks like she doesn’t know." Hakkai said quietly to the blonde who was beyond livid but behind the menacing violet eyes that was searching for blood was clearly a sign of worry. Thinking back on it, Hakkai was not surprised. Despite Goku's strength and ability to fight, he was also naive and vulnerable to manipulation even with the likes of Shoran. It was to be expected after learning that the teen had only been let out three years ago from a mountain cage he had been trapped in for 500 years. He looked at Mala with a sense of pity as it’s more than likely that things were going to turn out badly for her. Not that Mala knew any of that.  
“Know what? What the hell is going on here?”  
“There were claims of missing children and suspicions of trafficking of said children during the festival” Hakkai started to explain. “So Sanzo came to investigate them and we’ve just this group here who are clearly drugged to keep them quiet in the trailers.”  
“The caravan would never do something like that. We’ve been set up.”  
“Both your lead dancers were unable to perform today that resulted with Goku having to step in. What happened to them?” the blond man in particular was relentless with his questioning.  
“They said they got into an accident.”  
“An accident or was it because they got caught and were made an example of?” There was silence to the question as the overwhelming evidence that was going leave her life to ruin was sitting there before her and it was breaking through the cracks of her stoic shell. “Brat, you can whine all you want about the prejudice you get from the monks at the temple but if you are going to keep your head buried in the sand while this is going on then you are no better than the scumbags that are in this business.” Mala flinched for the first time but she recovered quickly glaring at the priest.  
“Everyone in the troupe spends all their time practising for the shows together. I think I would’ve noticed if they were off doing something else.”  
"Then I guess this case is to do more with the people a little higher up." Gojyo said quickly picking up on what the situation was about. "Where is your so called Chief?" The gypsy girl hesitated but upon another glance at the dirt covered children, she relented and led Sanzo and Gojyo down the line of trailers, towards the front of where the caravan was. She needed to find what was going on too. Gojyo scowled stuffing his hands into his pockets. The day was turning into a nightmare. The red head grimaced at the thought of Goku being in danger. He never really thought to guard him since he knew the kid could actually take care of himself. Goku was able to take out Hakkai who was an extremely proficient fighter and while Hakkai had often told him about his own worries about the boy's recent behaviour, Gojyo himself never gave a second thought about the golden eyed youth needing protection. He felt like kicking himself now that the boy had suddenly disappeared while he was standing right outside the door.  
Glancing at the blonde priest next to him he could see the grim expression as they arrived at the door of the main office. 'Crap, he's really pissed right now. I've never seen him like this but having said that Goku has never been in this kind of trouble before. There sounds behind the door of the office were muffled but they also sounded angry as they approached closer. Straining their ears, they tried to listen in on the conversation that was at hand. There were two voices, one was clearly angry while the other made their skin crawl from the lazy drawl in the tone of his voice.  
"Damn it Konran, you didn't have to break their legs." growled the angry one whom Mala recognised.  
"That's the Chief." Mala whispered as they pressed on to hear what was going on.  
"They shouldn't have been snooping about, you really need to keep a tighter leash on your troupe, if you really don't want the trouble you know, Chief?” the man called Konran retorted with a skin crawling drawl. “Besides, it won't do if those boys don't take our threats seriously. It would be more troublesome."  
"They were my main dancers of the show. I almost had to cancel it and how suspicious would that make the caravan?"  
"Ha, like anyone actually pays attention to those brats jumping around like monkeys anyway. If they were you wouldn't be so broke that you have to resort to these kinds of sordid affairs. You know, Chief, you might make more money by just selling the kids that are in the troupe along with the rest of the stock. They'd fetch a pretty price considering how incredibly flexible they are." Mala gasped. Looking at her face, Gojyo could tell that she was starting to look sick from the lewd words of the repulsive man behind the door. He could also see the pain of betrayal on the poor teens face as her world had literally crumbled all around her but despite this she seemed to hold her nerve. ‘Brave and resilient’ Gojyo thought. Even though the world beneath her feet had fallen apart and she found herself falling into hell she faced it head on. It made the half breed smile sadly at the tragedy of this discovery.  
"You leave my kids out of this, you sick freak," snapped the Chief.  
"Yeah, yeah speak for yourself. Anyway, speaking of kids, there is a boy that one of my more esteemed associates really has an eye for. A kid with gold eyes, you know about that?" Both Gojyo and Sanzo froze at the description with the latter diving into his sleeves gripping the familiar handle of the firearm that had been his companion for 8 years.  
"Gold eyes?" said the Chief with a hint of dread.  
"Yeah, they say that those with gold eyes are the source of fortune. My associate really has a certain taste for the exotic kinds. I've seen him hang around the caravan recently."  
"Leave Goku alone." They heard the slam of a hand against a table as The Chief said this.  
"Oh so he has a name huh?"  
"He's off limits. He lives at the temple."  
"So?"  
"He has keepers and we stay away from that. This operation has been running for as long as it has because we only pick up street orphans. No homes, no family, no mess.” The Chief hissed with venom. It made Mala feel even sicker at the thought of how long the caravan had been trafficking whilst she and her friends were happily doing what they enjoyed and living a life that they loved. “Besides, I doubt your 'associate' would be able to handle that boy. Goku… Goku is a free spirit and that’s how it should be."  
"I beg to differ. My friend has developed various techniques specifically designed to 'break' the free spirited. He's recently made this new narcotic. A powerful aphrodisiac mixed with a mind controlling agent. One face full of that and the kid will be instant putty, like a cute, horny, little puppy." There was a deadly silence that filled the air where the Chief was obviously too shocked to speak. Sanzo however, had heard enough as the door of the office had been kicked down by the furious red head. Both occupants of the room were startled and before they even knew it both were tackled to the ground.  
“What the- Who the fuck are you?” shrieked the slimy looking fat man that had previously been slouching on a chair with his trunk like legs propped on top of the table.  
“The really pissed off keepers of the kid that you were planning to abduct, shit face” Gojyo growled grinding a foot against the pudgy hands of the slimy man making him squeal. The Chief stood there, a man in his forties with tired look on his bespectacled face. His hair was long, grey and tied loosely back. There was a mild sense of shock followed by resignation at the sight of the silver muzzle that now directed at his face. Piercing violet eyes glared at him behind blond tresses and a quick glance at the long white robes and the scriptures that was on his shoulder told the Chief that the young man before him was a priest.  
“Where is Goku?” Sanzo’s voice was low and quiet but it was all the more menacing. Confusion was written all over the child trafficker’s eyes.  
“I don’t know.” The chief replied and it was met with a loud ringing shot just past his ear. The Smith & Wesson smoked slightly when Sanzo fired his warning shot.  
“Wrong answer Chief man,” Gojyo growled back. “Lord Sanzo here has been pissed all day so if you know what’s good for ya you better tell him where the monkey is.”  
“I really don’t know!” the grey haired cried, the hint of fear was showing on his face at the mention of Goku. “Believe me, I can hold my hands up for any crimes I’ve committed running this place but I would never hurt him. Not Goku…”  
“He’s telling the truth.” Mala called stepping between the two of them. “I know him well enough to tell that much.”  
“Then perhaps you can tell us where one of your dancers is. Her name is Haru.” Once again he was met with blank stares but what chilled him to the bone was their answer.  
“Who’s Haru?”  
“What do you mean ‘who’s Haru?’. That cute hottie that let us into the VIP room for your damn show.” Gojyo’s dread was shown clearly in his red eyes. He glanced at the priest who was right now at a loss.  
“This is a street parade that’s open to the public. There isn’t a VIP area!” Mala retorted. Before anyone was able to say anymore, Hakkai had rushed in from behind.  
“Sanzo, the city police have arrived. Someone’s tipped them off about what is happening here and they’ve taken the captive children into protective custody. They even have the identity of the ringleaders of the operation.” It had been the final nail in the coffin.  
“That… bitch…” he growled tucking the gun back into his sleeve and storming out of the cabin.  
“Sanzo? Where are you going?” Hakkai was alarmed at the sudden departure.  
“To find that murder worth ape.” He shouted. Hakkai tried to warn him about the officers that were probably swarming the place however the blonde priest seemed to slip through without a care. The green eyed brunet wondered if Sanzo was in fact a trained ninja masquerading as a monk or that perhaps the police was actually that incompetent around these parts.  
“Ah crap.” he heard half demon groan.  
“What’s wrong Gojyo?”  
“We’re the ones that are going to have to deal with the police and a long ass interrogation.” Hakkai chuckled awkwardly wincing at the thought. It was going to be a very long and tedious night.  
\---  
He ducked and weaved through the tight pathways created by the huge number of trailers packed dangerously close together, until he was out of the range of the police raid. It was pretty sickeningly easy for some reason but he didn’t bother to think further about it now. After years of putting up with the incessant ‘voice’, it had been strangely silent tonight. That could mean only one thing. Goku was unconscious so was unable to call out to him.  
Then he heard it, a soft and simple melody that resonated in the air. He would still be able to hear the song even amongst a busy crowd but it rang deafeningly in the quiet stillness of the night. Sanzo had gotten very familiar with the lullaby for the last two weeks but he never could tell where it was coming from until now. He followed it, hand diving back into his sleeve gripping the small firearm that he kept almost as close to him as the scriptures on his shoulders. Finally, after much running he saw the familiar shadowy figure that had been stringing him along all this time.  
“Good evening Priest Genjo Sanzo” Haru greeted, sitting high on the wall just next to the temple entrance. To Sanzo’s relief and fury, Goku was with her as well. Golden eyes were now eerily blank again with that faraway look that Sanzo had been seeing increasingly a lot lately. The priest’s attention though was on the woman that was beside him.  
“You’ve got some nerve, spreading a rumour in my temple and forcing me to go on a wild goose chase.” The barrel of the gun was now pointing at the smiling gypsy.  
“It’s for a good cause though isn’t it? Those orphans needed a voice and someone that is actually looking out for them. Would anyone have known what kind of hell they were going through if I hadn’t done what I did?”  
“So why bother me about it? It looked like you got the proper authorities involved in it already.”  
“Well, it kind of comes with a lot of paperwork. I don’t like paperwork and I have far too many things to do as it is.” She replied admiring perfectly manicured fingernails. A shot fired loudly into the night startling awake a number of the monks that were in the temple.  
“Like brain washing little monkeys?” Sanzo seethed furious that the sound didn’t snap Goku out of his daze. There were panicked cries as the acolytes were starting to filter out of their rooms to see what was happening but neither Sanzo, Haru or Goku paid attention to them.  
“I think the more appropriate term is, reconnecting.” Haru retorted, still as cool as ever. “The only thing I did wrong was pretending to be a worried mother looking for a missing child.”  
“Don’t give me anymore of your bullshit bitch!” he hissed cocking the gun ready to fire another shot at her. Haru sighed in resignation.  
“Whatever is going on with them you’ll need to figure out for yourself priest. I merely returned them home.” Sanzo frowned. Them? What did crazy wench mean? He looked at Goku and realised there had been something else that was strange about him tonight. The moon had been full and bright so he hadn’t noticed it at first but there was a very weak glow surrounding his entranced charge. Squinting a little bit more, he could see the small vines wrapped delicately around his body and pearly white petals peeked out from amongst them.  
“The orchid and Goku. Spiritual kin, right? What is it doing to him?”  
“No idea but it’s not harming him. That much I know for sure.”  
“And what reason do I have to believe that?”  
“None except to hope that what I said is true. If it is, then everything else that I’ve said to you today must be the truth too.” Haru grinned at the withering look the priest gave her. She leaned forward propped her chin on one hand. “I am a friend and as a friend I’ll give you some advice.”  
“What?”  
“Play the pipe of the piper and find the rat.” She said in a whisper but Sanzo felt the words hammer louder than any drum and it confused him. While he tried to mull over the words, Haru turned her attention on Goku. She smiled and patted the golden eyed teen’s head affectionately before pushing him off the wall. Without thinking, Sanzo rushed to catch the youth. He aimed his gun back to where Haru was but she had disappeared. Her voice lingered on though in the distance. “Keep taking good care of him Sanzo and farewell.” Sanzo stared at the empty space where the mysterious gypsy woman had been. Deciding that the woman had truly gone, he looked down to check for injuries.  
“Tch, everyday is pain in the ass with you.” He muttered under his breath as he cradled the dazed brunet in his arms. Looking at him closer, Sanzo could see glowing aura more clearly. The flowers shimmered amidst the numerous vines that entangled the youth. The Singing Orchid let out one final hum before the plant appeared to wither away, it’s soft light dimmed into grey before dissipating into dust altogether. Brushing any remnants of the plant away he started to shake Goku. “Oi, you brain dead ape. Snap out of it.” He growled whipping out his trusty paper fan. Goku blinked and the strangely emotionless look on his face started to melt away. Life returned to his eyes as the spell that had him in a trance wore off. Now he looked just plain tired.  
“San…zo?” he murmured. Golden eyes drooped and a hand tugged gently at the priest’s robes. The boy hadn’t looked this vulnerable since the night his limiter had come off. Although there were no tears this time, Goku looked smaller than he had ever been for a while. Sanzo sighed gently ruffling the mass of brown hair on the boy’s head ignoring the slew of pointless questions from the monks that had rushed to eavesdrop by the door but too afraid to come out until they were certain they were safe.  
“Master Sanzo! What happened?”  
“What was that noise?”  
“A gun shot? Are you hurt Master?”  
“Someone call a healer. Master Sanzo might be hurt!” Sanzo rolled his eyes in disgust how the cowards fretted over him while completely ignoring the unconscious youth that was in his arms. Shifting Goku into a better position to carry, he glared at the monks effectively silencing them. “Stupid monkey,” he muttered under his breath.  
\---  
He hadn’t moved from his spot in Goku’s room after putting the golden eyed teen to bed and tired as he was, Sanzo had not slept. Just because the caravan was gone, the problems it brought were still going to be there and the biggest one was still curled up in bed completely dead to the world. Sanzo sighed at another knock on the door. He had turned the acolytes away several times this morning but they were now becoming persistent.  
“Master Sanzo, I would like to speak with you. This is of utmost importance.” The blond priest groaned. The voice belonged to the head abbot, the highest authority in the temple second only to Sanzo himself. Dismissing him would be more troublesome than it was worth.  
“What is it?”  
“We need to call another meeting regarding certain activity that transpired last night.” Sanzo clicked his tongue in irritation as he went through the events. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he had exacerbated things by waking everyone up. He had been disturbed a number of times by the murmurs through the paper thin walls and he was not liking a single word that he could hear quite clearly being said. Thankfully, Goku slept on unaware of all the gossip about him but that was soon about to change. Sanzo cursed to himself thinking about the impending ‘meeting’. He hated complicated things and he hated the fact that he had made things even more complicated by inadvertently providing the monks with evidence to the validity of the rumours targeting his charge. However, what he hated more was the final cryptic message left over by the manipulative bitch that had started the rumours and how that message may be the key to getting him out of the hole he had stupidly fallen into.

'Pipe of the piper…' he mulled over the words one last time. There was no other way to go about it. 

“Shit…” he groaned

p


	4. Who is the Pied Piper

It was nothing but a farce, a lynch mob in the guise of a trial and the monks had been relentless as soon as they realised that Sanzo wasn’t going step up to defend his charge. Fortunately, it seemed news of the raid on the child traffickers had not reached the temple yet, but the violations of Chang An’s ‘sacred’ rules had been more than enough reason for the abbot to call the meeting. What bothered Sanzo though, was that Goku still seemed half asleep throughout it all. He half expected and secretly hoped that the boy would start shouting in protest about the disgusting things that were being said about him, or at least look confused.

“We as a collective have concluded that because of Son Goku’s violation of the temple rules, the most appropriate action is exile from Chang An. Now, since he is still a child and have no kin or home to return to, he should remain confined in isolation until we find a suitable placement.” Sanzo grimaced at the collective grunts from almost every monk in the room after hearing Shoran’s proposal.  He had made it clear that he was going to be staying out of it as the abbot had asked earlier that morning. Truthfully, Sanzo could’ve just overruled it as the influence of The Three Aspects and his connections with them should be more than enough to invalidate any argument the monks had, but the haunting words left behind by Haru left him with a disturbing suspicion. As much as he was reluctant to, he had to let this fiasco play out if he wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery the gypsy had presented him.

“Have you any words to say for yourself, Son Goku?” asked the head abbot. It was a pointless to ask since it seemed clear that it was almost a unanimous decision but it had also seemed to jolt Goku out of his sleepy haze.

“Sorry but what exactly am I being accused of again?” The question was an absurd one, since they had just discussed that very topic for the past hour. Everyone stared at him incredulously but what shocked Sanzo the most was the sudden change in the lad’s whole demeanour. Although he still looked physically tired, his golden eyes appeared to shine brighter than he had ever seen and exuded a deep and ancient wisdom.

“You incorrigible child!” Shoran bellowed. “You have been seen fraternising with women from the caravan that is not only a violation of this temple’s sacred rules, it also obviously resulted with an altercation that the exalted Master Sanzo had to resolve.”

“There’s that word again. What does it….” Goku trailed off into a mumble as he dug into his pocket whipping out a dictionary and started flicking through it rapidly. “F… F…. Ah here fraternise… to associate or form a friendship especially when one is… Oooooooh!” The young teen closed the book with a snap then tossing the book behind his shoulder once he had been enlightened of the meaning. He straightened up to face the abbot with a piercing gaze and for a second Sanzo thought he saw them sharpen into cat like slits. “Why is it a problem with me having a friendly chat with a couple of people at the caravan?”

“Do you not know the gravity of your transgressions, Son Goku?” Shoran had regained his brazen attitude since the day before and it was bordering on insufferable. “How you violated the teachings of Buddha by associating yourself with those gypsies? Women are a sin.”

“So is everything else according to Buddhist teachings, so what?” Goku retorted coolly and whatever nerve Shoran had gathered before suddenly evaporated before the golden eyed boy’s confidence.

“S-so you admit that you have been…”

“I talked to Mala for a few minutes every now and then about random stuff she knows about the world from her travels when she’s on her break and I finished all my chores so I didn’t see how that was ever a pro-”

“Regardless of the amount of time,” one of the other abbots snapped rudely interrupting Goku. Sanzo, who was watching the proceedings noted the immediate flash of anger in the youth’s gold eyes. “You have allowed yourself to be tempted by the caravan and their vile ways, jeopardizing Chang An temple’s reputation-“

“-as a place that houses a bunch of glorified beggars, posing as Buddhist monks that do nothing but whine and bitch while scrounging off a society of hard working people.” Goku did not shout but his words sounded deafening and forced the monks in the room into stunned silence for a moment. Even Sanzo was surprised by the outburst as well as feeling a sense of pride for his young charge. It had been the most truthful sentence he had heard all morning and if it wasn’t for the fact that there was a bigger issue at hand, he might have been tempted to dismiss the entire trial and buy a bag of meat buns for the monkey. He knew Goku could talk until the cows came home but he had never seen the boy with this level of articulation. Golden eyes looked wide and enflamed with a wild intelligence as he slowly but confidently paced around the room.  It seemed like he had patiently bided his time storing every single cruel word, every snide remark ever made and laid it out in front of everyone, reflecting their own sins like a mirror. The entire hall seemed charged with energy and Goku stood at the centre of it looking commanding and dare Sanzo believe it, regal.

“H-how dare you…”

“What? It’s what everyone outside the temple say. Besides, isn’t that what you guys do all the time? Complaining for 15 days over me talking to a girl for 15 minutes was just the latest topic for you, wasn’t it?” Whispers started to ripple across the hall among the monks, some angry with denial while others were worried. Shoran most of all looked troubled by it. Sanzo snorted in amusement at the number of acolytes looking slack jawed with shock.

“That is not what we do, Son Goku,” Shoran seemed almost like a desperate cry to defend the integrity of his fellow monks. It was Goku’s fault. He was always causing trouble ever since he arrived. Shoran was one of the few monks that had even seen the monster behind the gold crown that had punched a hole through a wall three years ago. Admittedly, he had felt ashamed of himself for running out and leaving Sanzo to deal with the beast alone but he had been one of the first to run back to help, fearing the worst had happened. Shoran couldn’t contain his relief when he found Sanzo resting unharmed by the gaping hole and the monster fast asleep on the floor. Ever since then Goku was an eyesore at best and a menace to the temple at worse.

“Right…. What was the saying one of the teachers said yesterday, the ‘right’ path in Buddhism should and can only be walked by the will of oneself. Unless I have misinterpreted that, I have essentially been living under a rock until three years ago after all, but aren’t you guys just been doing the exact opposite by trying to dictate to me how I live my life?” The room fell quiet once again, whether from denial or self-reflection it wasn’t certain. The one person who wasn’t fazed by Goku’s bluntness was the blond priest that sat at the main table next to the Head abbot. He remembered the conversation he had with Haru feeling warmth radiating out from the young brunet sensing the same aura that he felt the night before.

_The orchid and Goku. Spiritual kin right? What is it doing to him?_

_No idea but it’s not harming him. That much I know for sure._

As much as he was reluctant to, Sanzo trusted those words. Right now, he had to wrap up this sham of a trial so that he can finally sort the real problem with Chang An temple.  

 “I think enough has been said,” he announced which resulted in a pained look in Goku’s face. “You’ll be in your room under isolation until a decision has been made. This meeting is adjourned.” His cold tone shattered the youth’s confidence and it was hard to look at Goku looking despondent. There was frustration and anger as well which the youth directed at the monks that now wanted to get out of the room. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a small set of beads from his other pocket and stared at it for a moment, forlornly. Sanzo was surprised by this. He knew that Goku had been attending Buddhist lectures but had not expected the youth to actually try to pay attention and take it seriously. After all, Sanzo himself did not really follow the Buddhist faith outside of his own master’s eccentric words of wisdom. Goku’s gaze shifted to look at Sanzo, his eyes full of hurt and uncertainty. The blonde priest felt an uncomfortable pang but he did little to show assurance to Goku that the boy wasn’t going to be sent away.  The golden eyed youth took one final look at his beads then let them fall from his hand. It seemed they had been well worn, probably hand made by inexperienced child-like fingers because the string that held everything together snapped upon impact. The prayer beads shattered and the little baubles scattered in every possible direction on the cold hard floor. Goku ran out of the room without looking back.  

\---

“YOU DID WHAT!?” Sanzo winced when Gojyo grabbed him and roared right into his face. Already, the headache that he had incurred earlier from the meeting had now returned with a vengeance and the bitter stench wafting from the half demon’s Hi Lite cigarette didn’t really help either. Gojyo’s reaction to the aftermath of the meeting was to be expected though. No matter what the reasoning it was going to be a lame one. “You unholy sack of shit, I actually tried to reassure that monkey by saying you weren't as big as an asshole as you make yourself out to be and you go and do this?"

"Now, now Gojyo. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for Sanzo to do what he did." Hakkai assured gently pulling Gojyo back. The brunet glared in the direction of the priest. "Don’t you Sanzo?" The glint in his eyes suggested if he wasn't satisfied with the answer he might actually go on a second murderous rampage.

"Play the pipe of the piper to catch the rat." Sanzo said feeling the distaste on his tongue from having to repeat that woman's words to the two idiots before him. Naturally, they looked at him blankly.

"Hakkai, just let me punch him. Just this once." the red head was livid. Both he and Hakkai had spent a sleepless night cooperating with the police and liaising with the local orphanages and hospitals regarding the large group of captive children. They came to temple as soon as they could get away and were at first relieved to find out that Goku had been found then outraged at what Sanzo had allowed to happen. Both were keenly aware of the kind of authority that a Sanzo Priest had. Overruling the decision of Goku’s exile should’ve been a pretty simple affair, which was why hearing the monks excitedly gossiping that Goku was going to be kicked out of the temple had been a shock.

“Sanzo, please elaborate.” Hakkai seethed through gritted teeth while holding the short tempered red head.

“Haru’s parting advice after giving me the run around with all her other cryptic shit.” Sanzo dug into his sleeve to grab a much needed cigarette then gave the two friends his account of the events that had transpired the night before. Although the account had calmed the two housemates enough so they can think more rationally, they still held some distrust towards the blonde priest.

“The piper huh?” Hakkai mused intrigued by the puzzle. “As in the Pied Piper of Hamelin?”

“The what of the what?” Gojyo asked.

“It’s a western folktale of a man who played a magic flute to rid the town of Hamelin of a rat infestation.” Hakkai explained. “It’s somewhat of an analogy of our current situation with the caravan. Suppose that Haru is the ‘piper’ in this situation and the rumour she spread that were circulated around the temple is the music from the ‘magic flute’ then…” Hakkai turned to Sanzo, reverting to his ‘teacher voice’ that he often used during a particularly frustrating maths lesson with Goku.

“…the proverbial ‘rat’ is highly likely in the temple.” Sanzo concluded taking a long drag of his cigarette. The three fell silent for a few moments as the information sank in.

“That fat bastard yesterday did mention that there was a third member of the pedo brigade.” Gojyo recalled tapping the excess ash of his own cigarette out of the open window. “So, if nobody in the temple knows about the bust, he’ll still be after Goku, right?”

“I believe so.” Hakkai replied. “I presume, Sanzo, that you would want discretion to be used for apprehending this third member? Not that this temple has a stellar reputation amongst the locals-”

“Stellar? Ha! They all think you’re a bunch of bald headed snobs at best….” Gojyo interjected.

“…. but at least they believed Chang An to be a relatively harmless establishment. “ Hakkai smiled warmly at Sanzo’s chagrined face.

“Won’t be the case anymore if word got out that there was actually a child molesting monk living here working with a sex slave trading caravan.” Gojyo continued “The locals would tear it apart….”

“… which also explains Haru’s enigmatic methods in getting you to investigate the caravan in the first place.“ Sanzo cringed. It was weird to see how the odd pair, so different in character had gotten so close in a year that they were finishing each other’s sentences already. He also hated seeing the smug shit eating grins on their faces. The priest sighed, grinding out the butt of spent cigarette and throwing it out of the window. There was only one way to go about it.

“If you want in fine, just don’t get in my way. Don’t think I’m forking out anything either. It’s not a job.”

“So I guess you’re using the monkey as bait?”

“Like Haru said, ‘Play the pipe of the piper’. The caravan was simply the delivery boys and someone is paying a big fortune for him. Keep pretending and make the bastard think the rumours have helped him get Goku exiled out of the temple. When he does the pick-up the rat will lead you straight to the source of where the infestation is.” He looked at the two men that had now become his team mates, at least for this mission but they weren’t particularly impressed.

“I hate that plan. It’s a shitty plan and I still want to punch your lights out,” Sanzo clicked his tongue in irritation at the red head pig headed chivalry at times.

“I’m not the one who came up with it, cockroach.”

“But you are the one who is executing it though, Sanzo.” Hakkai added gravely. “There’s also more to this story here. Those children were subjected to a mixed cocktail of drugs including an aphrodisiac and another unknown compound with similar effects to scopolamine. Under its influence it puts the victim in a vulnerable state of suggestibility as well as sexual arousal.”

“The perfect date rape drug, man. Odourless, tasteless, causes amnesia afterwards and not to mention about the part where you go into this trance where you willingly do everything your rapist tells you…” Realisation dawned on the red head when the blonde priest was not reacting at all surprised to this information. “Shit, he’s already been slipping some to Goku hasn’t he?”

“That explains why he’s been so tired and forgetful lately.” Hakkai gasped. “Sanzo, you can’t possibly think of putting Goku through anymore of this?”

“He’ll be fine.” Sanzo replied. The abruptness of his response shocked the brunet so much he almost laughed. Gojyo really did punch Sanzo in the face this time slugging him hard across one cheek.

“What the hell are you thinking, you dick? Is this temple’s rep that important you’re willing to risk fucking up the kid even more than what you’ve already done?”

“He maybe stronger than the average 16 year old but even so we’re not sure of the lasting effects of the-, he doesn’t even know what’s happening, does he?” Hakkai was nearing hysterical now as well.

“I said he’ll be fine.” Sanzo roared back silencing the two as he rubbed his bruised face. Hakkai was the first to speak.

“How can you be so sure?” he hissed.

“A hunch. If you got a problem with that then get lost and go home so I can handle this myself.”

“A hunch? That’s all you got?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Sanzo sighed wondering why he bothered even giving them this kind of information. He should have been able to handle it himself but they just had to stick their dirty fingers in his business. The priest stared at the stack of papers that he had been looking through during the meeting and throughout the ‘trial’ he managed to narrow down the culprit to about 6.

With everyone’s attention fully focused on Goku, Sanzo was able to observe all the monks that were in the hall. All of them had been residents of Chang An for at least three years as Sanzo had made a point to exclude any acolytes that had joined the temple for less than that. He also ignored all of the older monks who had been around since the previous head priest was alive.  After narrowing down the suspects to a few hundred, Sanzo immediately spotted something that confirmed his suspicions that Haru had been alluding to. Amidst the irate crowd of bald heads shouting angrily at Goku, one particular acolyte looked calm and almost bored at watching the fiasco. Sanzo surreptitiously flicked through the pile of papers that he had brought with him into the meeting and immediately the answer became clear.  Hakkai frowned at the formation of this plan as it entailed placing a child in danger and of the repercussions of it even if for some miracle, they managed to pull the plan off.

“We should at least prepare.” Hakkai said finally taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose from an impending migraine.

\---

Even with a warm blanket wrapped tightly around him and the softness of the pillow pressed to his chest, his room never felt emptier or colder than it was today. Sanzo hasn’t even come by and Goku started to wonder about any problem with his actions. He had been pretty certain earlier that he didn’t break any major rules in the temple that resulted in exile but Sanzo’s abruptness had caught him by surprise. Thinking about it, Goku had only just been let out into the world a mere three years ago. Who was he to determine right and wrong? He wasn’t sure what to think anymore as he curled into himself a little more. He looked out of the window that was his room and noticed it was already approaching evening. It was strange how time seemed to pass him by when he felt something wet trail down his cheeks. Goku went to touch the dampness. As soon as he realised what it was, his vision started to blur as more tears brimmed to the surface and a hollow empty feeling clenched at his chest. From his lessons, Hakkai had a saying for it, the feeling of something had happened before Deja vu or something.

“Are you going to just stand there shuffling your feet or are you actually going to say something?” Goku groused startling whoever was outside his room and quickly wiping away his tears. No way was he going to give the monk outside the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

“Food is here.” Came Shoran’s disgruntled voice. He sounded as miserable as Goku felt and in a way it was almost a small comfort for the teen. Goku heard the slight clatter of a tray being placed on the floor but there was no sign of the monk leaving. Was he expecting that the youth was going to escape? It wouldn’t make much of a difference since he was going to be exiled from the temple anyway.

“What now? Aren’t you happy enough that you finally managed to get me kicked out of the temple?”

“Master Sanzo has yet to make a decision about your case, Son Goku and don’t misunderstand. I don’t actually take pleasure in one of our members being exiled.” Shoran huffed leaning against the door.

“That’s news to me. You’ve always been on my case for every stupid little thing.”

“Only because you are Master’s chosen companion.” Shoran blurted out making Goku’s eyes roll. The monk sounded almost jealous, a little like that other creepy acolyte, Dougan, who decided to go away for training much to Goku’s relief. There was clear evidence of the same kind of infatuation but at least Shoran was nothing more than a mild irritation to Goku rather than someone that gave him the creeps. “As Master Sanzo’s brought you here personally, there is a certain level of expectation from you.”

“Expectation of what exactly?” There was a sigh coming from the monk.

“The fact that he brought you here specifically determines a likelihood of your candidacy to be Master’s successor. He holds a truly honourable position of holding 2 of the 5 sutras of heaven and earth.”

“Scrolls with words on them.” Goku retorted cushioning his head against two arms ignoring the sputtering rage from the acolyte.

“How can you say it so casually like that you insolent child. Do you not have a single awareness of the significance of what the 5 Heavenly sutras are?”

“They are separate parts of an ancient magic scroll that was said to be the creation of both heaven and Earth which is kind of a fallacy due to the fact that the Sanskrit written on the fabric is only around a couple thousand years old whereas there are archaeological findings of objects from ancient civilised society that predate the existence of the language.” Goku recited quickly almost without a taking a single breath. “Which begs the question whether the sutra was indeed what was used to physically create this world or was simply used by some power hungry egomaniac as a means to replace an old civilisation and it’s ancient rules with a new one.” The older acolyte balked at Goku’s inferences. The boy often looked confused in class and he had never said anything or asked the elders any questions. He seemed too preoccupied with thoughts of when his next meal was going to be so he wondered where the youth’s philosophical enlightenment came from. It was frightening and unnatural but it also planted a seed of doubt in his beliefs and it left him with questions. The boy’s golden eyes pierced through the darkness of the room, shining like a beacon before they slowly closed and buried behind overly long bangs that draped over the mysterious coronet on his head.

“Those are some blasphemous theories you have there.” Shoran replied after a moment of contemplative silence. “But surprisingly insightful. I’m surprised that you have never brought it up before given your usual rebellious attitude.”

“Because I don’t care about some parchment with a few squiggly lines written all over it.” All of a sudden, the sage like demeanour had vanished and Goku seemed to regress back into someone closer to his age. Smaller, vulnerable and filled with doubt, Goku wrapped his arms tightly around his knees. “It was all fine, everything here. Even if classes were boring and you were being more annoying than usual. It was fine, because Sanzo is here. Being stuck where I was and not knowing anything other than my name. How I got there or why. It didn’t matter once he got me out. Everything was… fine.”

Shoran was now sure how to react to it except stand by the doorway a little longer in reflection. Thinking back on the day, was the image of a horrifying monster that had literally punched a massive hole through their temple with his seemingly insignificantly small fists. The air was saturated with a bloodthirsty aura that day and Shoran wasn’t going to forget it no matter how hard he tried. Sanzo had rushed in and braved against the monster alone while everyone had literally curled into a corner. Shoran, himself had ashamedly given into that fear as well but as the dust had cleared and the boy ferociously snarls had been silenced by Sanzo’s divine light, he thought he could hear the beast speak. A tiny whimper in the midst of the rubble, Sanzo’s hand placed firmly across the boy’s eyes. Tears were streaming down the boy’s face.

 _But… I thought I was going to be abandoned…. Again._ He had thought he imagined that scene as a soft halo of light formed around the boy’s head and the golden band that had been broken that night was miraculously restored and forcing the beast into a deep slumber. Looking at Goku as he is now, Shoran felt something akin to guilt flip through his stomach. He would have to do a lot of meditating to deliberate on the dilemma.

“Well, Master Sanzo has yet to make a decision on the matter and even if it does mean exile, I’m sure he would find an appropriate place for you somewhere nearby where you may have supervised visits. It is a temple for public use as well, just because you won’t be able to live here doesn’t mean you are not able to come onto the grounds at all and Master Sanzo often makes trips outside regularly so he may come meet up with you.” Shoran tried to reason as the right course but he wasn’t sure if it was enough when the youth did not answer him. With the conversation effectively over, Shoran wondered away and he shooed away some of the younger acolytes that had started pestering him about Big Brother Goku. Apparently, the lad had been popular among the small group of initiates but that counted little in the decision making if Master Sanzo had decided on exile. Sighing, he looked at the uneaten plate that was by the youth’s side. Just this once, he thought hoping that it may be some comfort. Shoran went towards the kitchen to Brother Hoshu the cook to see if he can put in an extra portion of rice aside for the youth.

“Goku still eating well even after everything is going on?” Brother Hoshu asked incredulously.

“Not really, but I figure it may be a comfort.” Shoran replied. “Try not to let the elders know about it though. Take it from my portion if you must.”

“Thought you hated the kid, Sho.” Shoran frowned at the cook busy cutting up the vegetables.

“I find him a rebellious influence when it comes to the rules of this temple, Hoshu and he did punch a massive hole in the temple wall three years ago but it’s not in the Buddhist teachings to hold such an impure emotion as hate in one’s heart.” Shoran replied.

“Well I suppose you know better than me.” Hoshu replied. Shoran allowed a small smile at the chef’s diligence.

It was the next morning when Goku got the call and his breakfast was laid out in front of him.

“It’s time to go Goku. Master Sanzo has made his decision. You better eat up that breakfast for your journey ahead.” Goku stared at the rather large looking breakfast that was in front of him. It was a bigger portion than he usually had and normally he would’ve been ecstatic but the feeling of dejection thrummed throughout his being at what this actually meant. Sanzo hadn’t even to come see him in person. Had he actually angered the priest that much, he thought to himself. He looked up at the monk who had served it to him then picked up the bowl of food and slowly chewed at it. Never before had food tasted so bland and lifeless in his mouth but it was going to be the last thing he would be doing in this temple now. From now on, he was about to embark on the unknown with Sanzo and for the first time in three years, Goku wished he could go back to that dark cave up in the mountain and never know of the hurt of leaving the one person that mattered in his life.


	5. Orchid's Final Curtain Call

Sanzo hadn’t been there to even see him off when he followed the acolyte to where ever the hell he was going. Was the monk really that mad at him for the trial? Surely, Sanzo felt that it was a crazy and stupid gathering just as much as he did? Shoran had even brought up past blunders, some of which were not even his fault

What he had done, Goku had already paid twice, no ten times over by either fixing or receiving several beatings of a huge paper fan by Sanzo. Goku closed his eyes and rubbed at his head. He was so confused and really tired that he barely even touched the food that was presented to him. Last meal be damned, it wasn’t going to get rid of that strange aching in his chest. He vaguely remembered that it had happened once before and after that was a brief talking to by the same monk and huge hole in the wall that he had to help fix. Goku still could not recall what had happened when the monks had caught him wondering around the temple. He was just told that the coronet on his head had broken at that point and he had gone on a rampage and it had been Sanzo who had stopped him.

He was sure that helping the caravan when they were having trouble could not possibly have caused a bigger problem than breaking property or taking the peaches on the trees that apparently belonged to some Goddess. It annoyed him when any of the peaches had dropped and was left to rot because of some stupid notion that since the peach had touched the ground, it was somehow less worthy than those that the monks personally picked. He had taken liberties to ensure they were not wasted.

Hakkai had taught him about farming and how plants worked so he eagerly stripped the peaches of their flesh leaving nothing but the pit that was inside. Goku had then gathered his rejected peach seeds and replanted them a little out in a secluded woodland area away from the temple and away from the town so he hoped he could have his own peach tree and have fruit from there instead. Sanzo seemed intrigued by the idea when he told him after one night of being berated by him for wandering off outside of the temple rather than finishing his chores but he had never made a mention or disapproval of the act itself.

Gojyo didn’t really care much about it but was fine with taking a few of the peaches every now and then just to annoy Goku. It was a subject of many of the frequent arguments they had. Hakkai had thought it had been an excellent idea but he didn’t expect there to be a huge amount of success at Goku’s little entrepreneurial endeavour for at least another two years. He was really quite surprised when Goku had come back with an armful of fully ripe peaches barely a year after planting the seeds. It was considered in a joking manner that should the boy ever get himself kicked out of the temple that he could always start an orchard and that was where the idea started. Goku sighed and worried his lips. Surely, if Sanzo was going to send him away, then Hakkai and Gojyo would’ve taken him in. He could still be within walking distance of the little mini orchard he had started and have as many peaches as he wanted or if Hakkai had his way, make jam out of. Right now, wherever he was going, it was nowhere near Sanzo or Hakkai and Gojyo.

“Hey…” he said after a long time walking with the monk that had made the announcement. “Mister?” he didn’t really remember the guy, except maybe he might have chased him out of the kitchen a couple of times. The man seemed quiet but deep in thought. “Hoshi right?”

“That’s right.” The other acolyte replied in surprise. “If you’re hungry, there’s some food in the backpack. Master Sanzo seemed to figure that you may need it.”

The words were kind, this Hoshi guy didn’t appear to be a bad person but something didn’t seem to sit right with the golden eyed teen as he was led up further and further away from the temple. There was not even a word from any of the other acolytes, the young children or even Shoran. Goku had hoped that he would be able to say goodbye to at least some of them. “Don’t I at least get to say goodbye to everyone?”

“It’s not a good idea to since the elders have organised a group meditation for the first half of the day and the people who are taking you have a boat to catch this afternoon.” Hoshi replied with a small demure smile that made Goku feel uncomfortable. He also felt a little sick and extremely sleepy too. So, not only was he being exiled but he was being sent far, far away. Goku knew he didn’t do anything wrong. Of all the times he had ever gotten into trouble which usually resulted in a smack on the head, there was always at least a niggle of guilt that he felt for doing what he did upon reflection but right here, Goku just didn’t feel it.

“Its… just…” Goku found it difficult to keep his thoughts together and his moves felt sluggish and slow. He sat down on a rock to stave off the dizziness as well as a feeling unusually hot even as there was a cool breeze in the air. It should feel nice but he just felt agitated and wrong. Hoshi had pulled him back up so that they could continue with wherever they were going. A few minutes later and Goku stumbled and found himself tasting dirt as he had just fallen flat on his face.

“Are you alright?” Hoshi asked, his voice went deeper as Goku’s vision started to blur. Shaking his head, he looked behind him. The temple appeared to be a mere speck in the distance but he bet if he made a mad dash, he would be able to get back within 10 minutes and he really wanted to go back to the temple. He would take on all the chores, work in the snow for days on end if he had to, put up with all the mean things the monks said behind his back or in front of him. It didn’t matter, it felt like home. It felt like home because the three people that were most important to him were there. The blurring became worse and it started to swirl so much that he ended up leaning against a tree to help pull himself up and felt his breathing was becoming erratic.

“I don’t want to go…” Goku whispered just as he was finally finding his footing again and backing away from Hoshi.

“Goku, these are Sanzo’s orders.” Hoshi repeated. Goku froze and focused on the man, his demeanour, the odd little nervous quirk in his hand.

“You’re lying.” Goku said stepping back. He was shaking all over but he knew now without a doubt. “Sanzo would’ve told me directly.” He may not be the best person to figure out a liar, which is why he always lost at mah-jong or poker but he knew Sanzo. The kindly face had started to distort and change at that point and Goku knew he had to get away.

“That’s just too bad, kid.” Hoshi replied. “I’ve been paid far too much to bring you in and I need to meet the demand here.” Goku didn’t really get what the man was saying but he knew it wasn’t good. He backed away but whatever was making him feel dizzy also made him slow and weak. Being grabbed and dragged away by Hoshi was a shock but when the punch he tried to throw at him, that normally would’ve resulted in the man being sent flying few metres and merely bruised it, Goku got scared. Hoshi growled before shoving the teen away so he was a few feet away then digging something out of his pocket. Reaction still slow, he was hit in the face with a cloth loosely tied up that turned into a huge cloud of dust. He coughed as the weird powder suffocated him. Inadvertently breathing it in, was the worst thing as the dizziness that he had felt increased tenfold. His eyes were also red and stung like hell and the final humiliating thing of this incredibly shitty day was Hoshi tripping him up and he found himself not just tasting dirt but blood after the monk’s fist cut his lip.

“I know all about that monstrous strength of yours too, brat, which is why I upped the dosage. You would’ve been completely knocked out earlier if you had eaten all that food I prepared for you like you usually do, but I suppose this suits me better since it saved me carrying you for most of the journey.”

“You… bastard… what do you want?” Goku growled, his vision now completely obscured by a film of tears.

“Just money, brat. A whole lot of money.” Was Hoshi’s answer. “It’ll be alright, you’ll feel a whole lot better pretty soon.” Goku didn’t really think so even as the nausea set in but he was too weak to even move now, his body wanting to sleep when knew he definitely shouldn’t. He thought he heard Hoshi cry out and struggle.

“RUN GOKU!” the shrill voice of Mala bore into his ears and he woke up as the monk and the street performer rolled around pulling and scratching at each other.

“Mala…” Goku gasped trying to claw at the floor and hope that it would bring him strength so that he could protect his friend. Instead, he blacked out.

\---

Sanzo growled as he tried to block out the incessant whinging that was Gojyo who was muttering under his breath on why both he and the monkey were such a pain in his posterior in all sorts of ways. He brought every known grievances known to man that he could come up with which really was pushing the monk to the brink of insanity as his hand was now itching to point the barrel of his Smith and Wesson and plant a bullet right between the red head’s eyes. Perhaps he could do the same to Goku when he had to rescue his sorry ass afterwards but he had remained vigilant that night taking turns staying awake for when the rat of the temple decided to make their move. What had surprised him though was when Shoran had knocked coming into his quarters, a sombre and troubled expression on his face.

“Master Sanzo, I’ve come to make an appeal on Son Goku’s behalf that you reconsider his exile of the temple.”

“What’s changed your tune? You were one of the forerunners out to get him kicked out.” Gojyo asked. The monk looked affronted at the statement but did not say anything to retaliate.

“I also want to practise fair judgement rather than basing my decisions on my own personal grievances. I have spoken with Goku earlier and while, he is misguided, I do still feel he can benefit from the Buddhist teachings here. I’ve also recently received several testimonies from most of the younger acolytes describing his character as they were not able to attend the meeting to let their views be heard. That’s…. all I have to say further on this matter Master Sanzo, but whatever decision you make, I will respect it and I am sorry to have troubled you further with this.” Shoran bowed holding up a rather large scroll of names from the children, most of them large and messy and barely legible all describing Brother’s Goku’s selflessness and kindness to them during times when they found life most difficult in the temple. Some of them were pictures from the kids that were as young as 4 years of age. After Shoran left, the three of them gathered, each of them sporting a small smile at the show of tenderness that Goku inspired. It would indeed be a travesty if he were to leave.

It had been Hakkai who woke them up when the trafficker had made his move in the early hours of the morning. They stayed well back and watched a miserable Goku follow the man, swaying a little probably because the bastard Hoshi had probably dosed him again with his drug probably through the food. They had followed the two of them and had heard the struggle when Goku realised, despite the drug induced haze, that Hoshi had tricked him. It took Sanzo a huge amount of self-control as the man finally knocked the boy out with a massive cloud of sleeping powder. The subsequent appearance of Mala had been another surprise as the group had long thought that she and her group of friends, had been held in custody until someone was able to take them in briefly. Seeing as they were all minors and that they were completely unaware of what their chief was doing, they were considered victims as well and kept for observation. It seems Mala had escaped and had followed her own gut instincts too. Gojyo had to be physically held down by Hakkai when the brave girl was also knocked out.

“Having some trouble there Hoshi?” laughed someone in the distance as the former monk wiped the sweat from his face and gently rubbing the bruise that was sure to develop on his cheek.

“Just shut up and help me with them alright?” Hoshi complained as he threw Goku over his shoulder while the other man tucked Mala next to his hip. They had arrived at a campsite with a few dozen other men with a couple of caravans, one of which Hoshi and his partner threw the two limp bodies inside. The two men chatted a little as Hoshi placed a pack of frozen peas where his bruise was and gratefully taking a swig at a flask of what was most likely whisky. Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo took this opportunity to sneak in one of the caravan’s and hid while the men took their impromptu break and began the rest of the journey towards the docks.

“So… we got this far. What do we do now?” Gojyo whispered.

“Kill them. Whoever the ring leader is, they are beyond the law. It’s the whole reason why this stupid plan was set up in the first place.”

“Oh? What happened to the Buddhist no kill policies?” Gojyo grinned looking at the blonde who was at the moment doing last minute checks on his gun and peeking out the window to ensure that the other cart was still in his line of sight. The glare that was sent his way would’ve killed anything within a 100 mile radius and Hakkai chuckled quietly to himself despite himself when the red head recoiled in horror. Sometimes, in the most serious of situations it required a little humour even if it was at the expense of his two friends but the brief reprieve was broken with a sudden tingle of the vibrating of his phone in his pocket. He had borrowed it earlier from one of the troupe in order to keep in contact with them.

“I’ve borrowed a phone and asked one of the members of the dance troupe to send me some information about the condition of the children in the hospital. One of them was his younger brother that he had been searching for, for years.”

“Wow, the irony that all this time, the kid was literally right under his nose.” Hakkai bit the inside of his cheek trying not to snap at him despite his distress.

“We need to get Goku into the hospital as soon as possible.”

“What’s happened?”

“Many of them have slipped into a coma. The boy’s younger brother included.” Hakkai replied. After that there was a deadly silence between the three of them with the only noise of the rocking of the caravan and the bumps as a result of potholes on the road.

It was Gojyo who broke it as the distress was clearly in his voice. “Sanzo-”

“He’ll be fine.” Sanzo cut him off before they blew their cover and they sat in tremulous silence until finally, the caravan came to a complete stop. The stop was at small cruiser at the gulf

They had snuck out and followed silently towards a window silencing any guards that patrolled the outside of so that the only ones that they would have to contend with were those that were inside. They looked through the window and saw Hoshi arrange the Goku on a large bed surrounded by a cage while Mala was dumped on the side, chains on the wall were clapped on to her wrists so that she could not move. Hoshi instructed to the other men that it would be a good idea and that she was to be left well alone at least for now, much to the disappointment of the other traffickers. The main attraction was clearly that of the young brunet that lay on the bed right now.

There was the sound of a flushing toilet and a shower running as the obvious leader of the entire operation finally appeared and assessed each of his underlings one by one before his gaze lay upon Goku’s prone form. He was heavy build yokai with a long moustache that was akin to someone belonging to the imperial aristocracy, dressed in silk robes that would make the emperor of China look plain and insignificant. A salacious smile spread across the man’s lips as he heard Goku groan and the colour of gold glinted beneath slowly opening eyes.

\---

Everything had been a blur and the light hurt his eyes. He had to close them again to stop himself from blacking out once more. He felt something gross and slightly damp ghost up his leg and he wanted to move but everything about his body felt heavy. Damn Hoshi, he was going to kick his ass when he could somehow just get his arms and legs working again. Then, the disgusting presence hovering over him disappeared. Even the lewd creepy voice was suddenly replaced by a rather undignified screech as well as sounds of a struggle and the smashing of plates and broken wood being snapped.

Then suddenly everything went quiet again with the exception of a few gentle but worried murmurs. His vision was still blurry but he could just about make out three figures hovering above him. One red, one green and one gold and they all felt warm and kind. There was also another voice calling weakly after them and the red one disappeared from his line of sight to attend to the voice. Goku sighed as he felt thin but strong arms slide behind his back and knees before being lifted up. He felt his head droop forward and fall against a clothed surface. A familiar scent made him relax. He felt safe as the warmth of the golden figure cradled him and the lull of sleep fell over him again. Goku’s last thought was hoping he would be able to wake up and find he was back in his room at the temple.

\---

They had ‘commandeered’ the kidnappers’ wagon, not bothering to clean up the bloody mess that was left behind in favour of rushing Goku to the hospital. They had arrived within an hour and the nursing staff upon seeing the latest victim of the mystery drug took pity at the rather dishevelled group and took Goku off their hands. They sat in a heap in the visitors seats waiting for what felt like hours before one of the doctors appeared with a grim look on his face.

“Are you Son Goku’s guardian?”

“Yes.” Sanzo replied.

“I won’t lie to you priest, the complexity of this new drug is baffling. It literally rewrites the functionality of the body so that children develop a physical dependency on it. It’s not simply a case of addiction.”

“The bastards made it so that the kids can’t live without it right?” Gojyo interjected wincing as he caught Mara paling at the thought of it.

“That’s right. I suppose it’s a way to ensure that the children couldn’t escape at all. I’m sorry to say, but unless they have more of that accursed drug they’ll continue to deteriorate. The first stage is lethargy, followed by a coma and…”

 “Death.” Hakkai whispered. The doctor pressed his lips trying not to let the anger seep through. He needed to remain professional. “Is that the same with all the children despite how long they’ve been exposed to it?”

“I’m afraid so…” the doctor nodded. “I’m sorry...” The red head let out a long line of expletives at the news before charging at Sanzo and slamming him hard against the wall.

“GOD DAMN IT! YOU SAID HE WOULD BE ALRIGHT!” the half breed roared. Sanzo winced but felt his own rage sweep over him. Hakkai, Mala and the doctor made a move to separate them both and calm the situation.

“Please calm down, Gojyo, this is a hospital” Hakkai cried trying to pull the two men apart when a nurse rushed over to the doctor.

“Doctor Hanjo,” The nurse whispered in his ear.

“Really?” the nurse nodded ecstatically and the doctor sighed with relief. It was probably just what he needed to stop the two men quarrelling with each other.

“Son Goku is awake.” He announced which immediately stopped Gojyo from giving the monk a black eye. They all turned towards the doctor. The new development implicated a slither of hope that at least one of the drugged victims could make it through. “But… he’s asking for his guardian to see him before he allows further treatment.” Having heard the unbelievable news, Gojyo let go of his hold and stumbled backwards. The three young men stared at the darkened ward room where Goku was with a flicker of hope filling their hearts. A soft hum was heard in from within and straining their ears they realised that it was singing. Soft and quietly, the simple melody portrayed a wealth of emotion. As they approached, they noticed that Goku had sat up on the hospital bed, eyes closed and gentle words spilled from his lips. His eyes were closed as he swayed to his little song. After listening to it for days, Sanzo immediately recognised the tune but it was accompanied with words that he could now understand.

“Shinjite iru kono sora wa kimi no moto ni tsunagatte iru koto wo. Shinjite iru hikari no hou he” (1)

As he ended his song, Goku opened his eyes and stared at the blond monk. They appeared to glow in the darkness of the room and Sanzo could remember the cat like pupils that he once saw few years back. However, instead of the crazed beast of the Seiten Taisei, Goku looked peaceful but with an ancient and wise aura that belied Goku’s youthful appearance. Sanzo thought he had caught a glimpse of such a side to him at the trial, but seeing this new state of his charge was a surreal experience. It also confirmed his suspicions of the sentience of the magical orchid that he had learned about.

“What are you really?” he asked. Not Goku blinked, and then pursed his lips in deep thought. He smiled sadly.

“Nothing important.” he replied which while logical in the wider scheme of things, it still made Sanzo feel a pang at the self-derogatory statement. The golden eyed youth indicated towards the curtains that surrounded the bed. Sanzo obliged by pulling the blue curtains around the bed to allow for some privacy. Not Goku formed his hands into a cupping motion as tendrils of energy began to manifest and twist. Golden wisps of light bulged into bulb before blossoming out. Amidst the petals of the newly sprouted orchid there was a bottle. When the energy settled the orchid blossom withered and dissipated. Not Goku handed the bottle over to the blond priest. “Take this and give it to the children.” Sanzo stared at the bottle then at the entity questioningly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Like I ever would.” The priest groused and the golden eyed youth gave him an impish smile. “The antidote, right?”

“Part of it.” Not Goku answered. “Took me a while to process it but the powder was derived from a genetically engineered mushroom infused with demonic aura. That explains the complexity of how it works. It’s a product of the taboo fusion of science and magic.” Not Goku paused for a moment to let the knowledge to sink in and noted the priest tensing up as more questions flagged up in his mind. Not Goku didn’t give him chance to digress however as time was of the essence. “The cure is actually a two part process. The bottle in your hand can neutralise the physical components and repair the damage caused but it requires one last thing to fully purge and purify the yokai influence.” Sanzo raised an eyebrow at the explanation coming out of his charge’s mouth and how completely strange and freaky it was. Not Goku flashed a knowing smirk glancing at the long strip of Sanskrit words hanging on Sanzo’s shoulders.  

“Why did you need to possess Goku though? Just to get my attention?” Not Goku sighed and rolled his eyes.

“First of all, I was a flower. I couldn’t exactly do much else except stand there and look pretty. Secondly, I did not possess anything. I merely returned to where I belong.” Sanzo frowned, confusion clearly evident on his face as the explanation threw him off. Not Goku then sent him a pleading look and turned wistfully towards the other rooms where the other children were dying. Sanzo sighed and he walked over to the drugged victims and started giving them the drops, whispering the incantation that he had memorised. The medical staff did not take issue with a high ranking priest making rounds over the children that they were certain were not going to survive. One by one, he gave each a single drop starting from the ones in the most critical condition and murmuring his chants allowing the flow of the Maten Sutra’s dharmic powers do it’s job. Within half an hour of him walking out of the ward and returning to Goku’s room, he heard the sounds of children starting to talk weakly and the nursing staff exclaiming their joy of their miraculous recovery. All of this of course attributed to the great karmic powers bestowed upon him as a priest of the highest order. It didn’t sit well with Sanzo that he was being put up as a pedestal but as he went along his thoughts went back Not Goku’s enigmatic words then the priest had an epiphany as two words popped into his mind.

“Spiritual kin huh?” he murmured to himself as he looked around one last time to see if there was anyone he had missed. Ignoring the exclamations of praise, he returned to Goku’s bedside.

“I won’t remember this.” Goku murmured sleepily. “Probably best for now I suppose,”

“Won’t you be upset about that though?” Sanzo asked. He knew full well what Goku thought of secrets.

“It wouldn’t be for the first time,” Goku wriggled further under the covers, his eyes drifting closed. “Just a word of warning though, there is trouble brewing in the West”

“What trouble?”

“Not quite sure but I think we’ll find out eventually. I really don’t want to worry about that stuff right now.” Goku sighed and snuggled in to the pillow. For a moment Sanzo thought he was asleep once more when Goku spoke up one last time. “I’m glad you got to hear me sing, Sanzo.” Sanzo watched the boy curl into himself before his breathing became deep and all signs of stress disappeared from his face. After a quick briefing with Hakkai and Gojyo, the two friends left with relief in their heartS. Sanzo returned to Goku’s side and leaned back, exhausted.

“Give me a break…” Sanzo whispered to no one in particular.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you don’t recognise it, the song is called Hikari no Hou He (Toward the Light) This is the full version of the song that Goku was singing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fLAmwMJCxI  
> 1.I believe, that this sky connects me to the place, where you are right now. I firmly believe that, towards the light.


	6. An Encore and the Start of a Beautiful Legacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Spoilers towards the mini flashback ‘Voice’

Sanzo muttered all the curses he could think of under sun at the two idiots that had insisted on meeting up with him atop the woodland hill. It was really steep and the soil was loose where someone could easily have tripped and met with an unfortunate accident if they weren’t careful. He lit up a cigarette as Hakkai and Gojyo stared at him with smug looks on their faces, which gave him the urge to punch their lights out.

“How is Goku? I figured the hospital would want to keep him a little longer for observation.” Hakkai asked.

“Doubt anyone but his Lordship would be able to handle that monkey’s hyperactivity, Hakkai.” Gojyo interjected with a grin while stuffing his hands into his pockets. The hanyo kicked his long legs at some imaginary pebble in front of him as if he wasn’t there to quench his own curiosity. Sanzo rolled his eyes.

“He’s fine. Sleeping like a pig in the study. I’ve been ‘advised’ not to give him any strenuous activities by the hospital so the rest of the monks are picking up on Goku’s chores for now. Unfortunately, that brat has taken to following me around like a shadow as a result.”

“Well, can you really blame him? Just last week, he was being banished after all.” Hakkai mused cocking his head with sympathy for the teen. “Have you at least left a note for him when you went out?”

“He’ll be asleep for another hour or so.” The priest reasoned noting the boy’s habits. It had been a couple of days since Goku was discharged from the hospital and while he slept a little more than usual, taking a nap after lunch, he was none the worse for wear. He hadn’t the heart to wake the lad who was curled up on the floor of his study and opted instead to place a blanket around the boy’s dumpling like form before heading out. “What’s the reason you two knuckle heads brought me out here for?”

“Oh nothing,” Hakkai chuckled and Sanzo frowned at the hidden meaning. “We just wanted to do some catching up on things and to inform you that the rest of the children all made a miraculous recovery. No doubt due to your karmic presence. Business at the temple must be booming after this incident.” So this was the reason. They wanted to know what really happened. Sanzo thought as he had sent the two of them off without a single word. There were probably only two people that could have possibly known the real facts of the matter but the other person in question couldn’t even remember what had happened to him the past week. Sanzo frowned in distaste of the whole cloak and dagger business of it but he suspected there was a very big reason for it all, especially when the Three Aspects came knocking on his door. Not literally, he was summoned as they had gotten wind of the little miracle but was not completely aware of the details. Apparently, the Aspect’s ‘reputed’ all seeing network had suffered some kind of downtime in the past few weeks which coincided with the time that the caravan had arrived. They also outlined some rather unsettling rumours happening in the West. They hadn’t gone further about it and Sanzo wasn’t one to pry.

“I had some help.” Sanzo said. “That’s all I can say, since the other guy decided to disappear.” He hadn’t really lied since Goku’s second persona had not made another appearance since their little talk. While he knew that Hakkai and Gojyo weren’t satisfied with the answer, it was the only one he could give and they were just going to have to deal with it. There was one other thing that bothered him though. A niggling thought that just wouldn’t go away. Sanzo narrowed his eyes glaring at the ever smiling teacher. “Where are they now?”

“Well….” Hakkai drawing out a hesitant breath through his teeth. “They all disappeared.”

“What?”

“Vanished, skedaddled, gone AWOL, went down the rabbit hole.” Gojyo answered running down the list and dragging out the ‘o’ of the last word. “Hakkai was trying to make arrangements with whatever constitute as social services around here to get the kids into an orphanage, or at least off the streets, but it turns out someone just came by and whisked them all away. They even left a generous sum of money towards the hospital for their services. All anonymously of course.”

“Which comes as a bit of concern to me, since you mentioned the whole Piper business.”

“What about it?” Hakkai looked solemn.

“The story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin wasn’t a really happy one. It was said that after the rats were taken care of, the Piper was refused payment for his services by the very villagers that he helped. As a consequence, he used his powers to enchant and take their most precious members.”

“The children.” Sanzo mused. He had read up on the tale at the Aspect’s extensive library including the different types of endings. All of them varied in morbidity but there was one clear theme in all of them; the children were never seen or heard of again.

“I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt that our mysterious benefactor is operating under altruistic tendencies but considering the circumstances, is wherever they are going any better than where they just came from?” Hakkai stared plaintively at the priest hoping that he had the answers. Sanzo grimaced, both at the situation and at the bitterness of what remained of his cigarette but he did not comment further of the motivations of people who were not there to explain themselves.

“We did what we could.” Was all that he could say. “If you plan on chasing that matter, it is up to you but I’m not going to be wasting time on another wild goose chase.” Then as if slapped in the back of the head by a wet cloth, he heard it; the familiar plaintive and desperate ‘voice’ calling out to him, loud and annoying as always. A sense of trepidation filled his being as he took off in the direction Goku was calling. Hakkai and Gojyo looked bemused at first but hurried along with him and within moments, the inner voice melted into Goku’s desperate pleas as he cried out everyone’s name in quick succession.

“SANNNNNNZZZZZZZOOOOOO!” Goku screamed as he felt the ground suddenly give way under his feet. The priest had only moments to spare before the boy plummeted and he reached out grabbing Goku’s wrist. Steady and firm, Goku looked up in shock, his eyes brimming with tears.

“You’re always so loud.” Sanzo moaned but it lacked any bite of his usual annoyance whenever Goku was getting on his nerves. In fact, the monk was now slightly relieved that he was hearing that annoying voice again as he pulled the lad to be fussed over by Hakkai and to be teased by Gojyo. “You don’t have to shout. I can hear you loud and clear.”

It took a few minutes before Goku’s whimpers stuttered to a few snivels every now and then as Gojyo lifted him onto his back and gave him a piggy back ride back to the temple. Goku didn’t care if the others thought it was silly of him for worrying. He didn’t care why Sanzo went out without telling him. He didn’t care that he cried like a baby in front of everyone. He was just glad that they could stay together.

\---

A year had passed and Goku was looking at another spring. He was used to his now shorter hairstyle and getting pretty good with his weapon. Hakkai’s fervour for training had a good hand in it and he liked to think that he had one up over Gojyo although the red head insists that he was merely humouring the teen. Those fun thoughts were overshadowed by something a little more disheartening. There wasn’t going to be a visit from the caravan anymore.

Sanzo had explained everything to him when he had woken up at the hospital. The news of the caravan breaking up was what upset him the most because he had made some friends his age that didn’t shun him either out of pure dislike or fear of getting in trouble of being associated with him. They were likely never going to meet again but as sad as Goku was that it ended, he was more worried about what was going to happen to them all. The caravan was as much their home as his was the temple and he couldn’t help but feel guilty it had been ruined. What was worse was that Goku never got that chance to say goodbye nor to apologise to all of them. Even Mala had disappeared shortly after their rescue and it sometimes weighed on Goku’s mind on some of the lonelier nights. The monks at the monastery were none the wiser of the seedier goings on within the caravan but they looked at least satisfied that their non-existent issues had been dealt with when it looked like the familiar line of carriages did not make another reappearance.

“Hey” chirped a voice calling out from atop the wall startling Goku out of his depressing reverie. His eyes widened at the wide and sparkling grin.

“Mala?” Goku looked surprised that the street performer had just appeared just as he was thinking of her. She had gone through somewhat of a growth spurt but she seemed pretty and more exotic than ever with some rather expensive looking clothes. She was acting shy like she was last year but for all intents and purposes she seemed like her old self once more. “How are you?” he asked, happy to be able to see her again.

“Great! Pretty fantastic actually.” Mala replied sitting on the wall to allow her legs to swing. “Caravan’s coming over tomorrow, just thought I’d let you know.”

“Really? But I thought… How?” Mala giggled and tapped her nose.

“Just had a little help from someone.” Goku blinked confused on who it could be. “Our only issue is going be having those crabby monks on our backs again so I thought I’d run on ahead to warn you.”

“Maybe… Sanzo can help-“

“I think Sanzo’s helped enough, thank you very much.” There was a hint of indignant vindictiveness in her tone that made Goku flinch. Normally, he would usually defend the monk’s actions but even he felt betrayed that Sanzo had not tried to warn him as soon as he knew about Hoshi. It had resulted in the poor girl literally losing her home, so he let it slide.

“I-is there anything I can do to help?” Mala’s expression softened and she smiled as she dropped to the ground and hugged him.

“Goku, just look at me. We are just better than ever from last year. It was hard but we managed to start over. We still do what we do but better and without creepy kidnappings going on in the side. I actually have you to thank for that.”

“Really?” Goku asked looking surprised. He looked carefully trying to decide if she was lying just to spare him the anxiety of worrying but Mala seemed genuinely content. She grinned widely and twirled around like a ballerina.

“That someone that helped us? Said she was a friend of yours that’s why she wanted to lend a hand and man, the lot of us done some crazy stuff together, so really, in a way you helped us already.” Goku blinked owlishly in confusion but he didn’t really pursue it preferring to watch Mala climb back up the wall and skip across the top. “I would like to ask one more favour from you though.” Mala said pausing in the middle of a one arm hand stand.

“What?”

“Would you like to be the lead in our big opening performance tomorrow?” Mala’s eyes sparkled.

“B-but… I, it’s only tomorrow. I don’t know if I can learn all the moves in time. I-it took me an entire week to-”

“Oh relax you numpty.” Mala giggled bopping the golden eyed teen. “We are basing it on that little number you practised last year.”

“L-last year?” Goku stuttered trying not to let himself blush on his spontaneous performance on stage that time.

“That’s right, just a swap of costumes, some pretty awesome new music and a few tweaks on the routine and Bob’s your uncle, we got a brand new show. So what do you say?” Letting the nerves settle and the excitement build. Goku did enjoy the feel of the dance, it felt he had entered a new world where he was able to express everything that words could never convey. He worried his lips at the thoughts of what the monks were going to think or Sanzo for that matter. Then a little idea sparked in his mind. It was one he had considered the year before in order for both sides to reach a compromise but Goku had never really thought to put the idea into action. Consequently, it had caused a lot of grief for pretty much everyone. Goku hated that he was being so passive about it before but not this year. Not anymore.

“On one condition.” Goku replied as he put his little plan into action. Hopefully, he could perhaps breach the gap and bring about some harmony in the feud.

\---

Sanzo sighed as he looked out towards the audience from the top of the plateau and with it the awe and respect from the monks and the townspeople. Slowly, he recited the usual garbled teachings as a sign of good faith upon the group. After he had said his piece and combined with the warmth of the spring sun. Everyone was in good spirits and even more so as the show officially started the performers filtered onto the stage, their dance epitomised the very essence of piety of ones actions that appealed to all audiences.

The music filled with a sense of hope as they twisted and turned depicting the story of an unnamed hero with the wisdom of a thousand years. How he helped others in need while riding on a cloud that could fly thousands of miles and wielding a golden staff that could grow large enough to measure floods or shrink to the size of a needle. The hero himself commanded the magic of old from an ancient civilisation, able to manipulate nature and all its elements as well as lead the forces of both Heaven and Earth.

In the end, the unnamed hero made the ultimate sacrifice but had saved the world. However, he left behind two things in his legacy; a magical item that contained all of the knowledge that he held, which he entrusted to five of his closest allies and the other, a small pebble that he planted on the top of a mountain.

Sanzo folded his arms and leaned back against the temple wall as he watched the stage fade to black ending the scene of the bitter sweet ending of it. It seemed that the newly reformed Singing Orchid Caravan had been doing a lot of research of some obscure legend in their travels as he had never really heard anything like it. He supposed they had drawn certain liberties regarding the golden staff to over glorify it and he frowned at that but apart from that it was a performance that impressed even him. Hakkai was particularly enamoured by the depth of the folklore and Gojyo was in his element chatting up some of the ladies that were staring in awe at the pretty dresses all the performers were wearing and complimenting on how good they would look if they wore them. Sanzo looked around at the monks who had all taken part of the spectacle, now a little bit wiser and also a little more open minded, particularly Shoran who seemed especially appreciative of Goku’s efforts helping him and several other monks in physical training while they tried to teach him the etiquette which Goku rolled his eyes at. To his credit, Shoran quickly realised that Goku was actually smarter than he let on as he brought up points that really made more sense in terms of its relation to the actual literature than what their elders were trying to teach.

“It seems we got our answer from the Piper after all.” Hakkai chuckled as he checked the recording of the performance on his brand new camera.

“So it seems.” Sanzo replied.

“I’m a little relieved actually. What about you?”

“Annoyed.” The monk flashed an amused smile belying his answer as the background sound of Goku’s ‘voice’ sounded whiny and nervous just before he went onto the stage, playing the unnamed hero. Then as if greeting an old friend the finale began with that small familiar tune that had kept him company during those days when the caravan and temple were at loggerheads with each other. The pebble had grown with the careful cultivation of the energy of the world and Sanzo pursed his lips in curiosity as the tale held some familiarity for him. The pebble had now become a huge boulder and then suddenly, it hatched. Well, it not so much as hatched but blossomed revealing the birth of a new being.

The new being explored the world with a childish curiosity and wonder across the barren land stretching his legs and flexing his fingers. Just as the music quietened down into a profound moment before swelling as the creature looked as if ready to take flight to further explore the new world around him. As the music built, Goku swayed combining his training at the temple and the dance movements he had learnt from the caravan. He appeared to have a blind fold covering his eyes symbolising the initial weakness of a new born who has never used sight before or his hands or legs for that matter. As he grew stronger, his movements more confident and precise with leaps, runs and graceful flips; the music built higher. Finally at a momentary pause before the climax of the music, Goku whipped the blindfold off and his golden eyes seemed to gleam brighter than ever before. He looked over towards where the priest stood in the audience and flashed him a knowing smile as the he lifted up and clouds started to steep onto the stage symbolising clouds. At this point, some of the background dancers looked a little confused but carried on with what they did. They were professionals after all. In time with the final instrumental verse, the long haired wig that Goku had been wearing on account that his own hair had been cut short had fallen off underneath, spouting brilliant energy charged tresses that seemed to flow around the youth and a warm aura emanated from him. Sanzo’s eyes widened as he stared at the epic centre of it. Goku’s golden irises were now glowing molten.

_You really are like the sun_

The words came from nowhere in the recess of Sanzo’s mind and in a rush of light that no possible bit of wire work could accomplish, Goku seemed to fly across the roof tops on his cloud leaving a trail of cherry blossoms that suddenly erupted into bloom. The audience gasped in awe at the sight as sprouts of wild flowers seemed to penetrate between the gaps of the cobble stones. Goku had made a full sweep across the street before returning to the stage with a simple backflip in time with the final smack of the drum.

The eruption of applause that followed was deafening as everyone stood cheering and whistling. Even Gojyo who had been chatting up one of the market stall apple seller girls was stunned by what just happened. As the cast took their bows, they cheered their loudest as Goku took his bow as not just a background dancer but the star of the show. He beamed from ear to ear then cast his gaze towards Sanzo and put a finger against his lips. ‘It’s a secret’ was the silent answer to Sanzo’s question. Sanzo shook his head and chuckled at how that orchid can be such a pain in the ass but that was what divas are after all.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that’s the end of this story. I know you’ll have some questions but hopefully, they’ll get answered in fuller detail in other stories in the works. I’ve taken some liberties and inspiration from other works and franchises. I wonder if you’ve noticed which ones? The music that the scenes in this chapter is linked below. It’s all I’ve been listening to whenever I’m working on this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3pNVBgMyME


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